Why Marcus Smith hopes to follow his friend and Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister when England face Fiji - with rugby star 'chomping at the bit' to showcase his skills

On Tuesday night, Marcus Smith put on his compression trousers and settled in to watch Liverpool take on Real Madrid.

Smith is close friends with Alexis Mac Allister, having visited the midfielder's old home in Brighton to swap jerseys and drink mate tea.

Mac Allister scored the winning goal at Anfield, although he is more renowned for his killer pass around the edge of the box.

Having been recalled by Steve Borthwick to face Fiji this weekend, Smith has been tasked with a similar role.

England's attack often fell one pass short against the Wallabies on Saturday and Smith will act as a third playmaker in the backline with Fin Smith and Fraser Dingwall.

The Harlequins fly-half has once again been selected in the No 15 jersey, offering sharper distribution skills to injured full-back Freddie Steward.

'Fin Smith and Marcus were champing a bit for the opportunity,' said Borthwick.

'So I think you see a team that will want to move the ball. I think you see again we've got pace and power on the edges.

'I'm really hopeful there that we'll see Marcus in space in unstructured opportunities, which I think everybody in the stadium is going to be excited when that ball comes into Marcus' hand in a bit of space.

'Last week we had some of those opportunities, the players had a great attitude in some difficult conditions to go and take those opportunities in unstructured situations. Unfortunately we didn't convert them.

'Part of what we've been working on this week as well is converting those opportunities, making sure we support on line-break situations: "This is exactly what we need to be, so that next ball goes to hand and we're able to finish and get the points on the board".'

For Marcus Smith, his recall to the England team brings mixed emotions.

It is one of the sweeter moments in an up-and-down year; drifting in-and-out of the England team, inconsistent at Harlequins and a receiving a call-up for the Lions tour of Australia.

He was left out of the matchday 23 last week so he will appreciate his return to the XV, yet his ambition remains to wear the No 10 jersey

'I'm a fly-half,' Smith said last month. 'It's painful when you want something. When you dream of something as a kid, you've had it and it gets taken away, it's painful. It's my fault, fully. I've got to find a way to get that consistency in my performances and that consistency in the influence of the group around me.'

He is not blessed with the aerial presence of Steward, who thrives under the onslaught of kicks in Test rugby. Kicking is not central to Fiji's attacking strategy but, irrespective of what happens this weekend, the backfield cover will surely tighten back up against the All Blacks next week.

'Marcus is a brilliant player and it's very competitive with the three fly halves we've got,' added Borthwick, who has left George Ford out of this weekend's matchday 23. 'Marcus has the versatility to play 15 as well and I think he's a top-class 15.

'He is someone I've met a couple of times out of camp in the last period, whilst being respectful they are with their clubs and they're busy on club duty and club time. I think I want all the players to feel supported on the journey.

'It's rare that anybody's journey just goes in one direction and stays that way. Players have always had bumps in the road and corners to turn, that's always part of the nature of it and I think the coaching team is there supporting our players.

'He trained really well. Last week, there was a break he created from a little grubber kick from his own try-line, which I've seen very few people ever able to do.

'I think players improve in this environment and they move forward and that's partly because it's so competitive. That's the nature of it, there's lots of good players here. Whereas a player is always selected for their club, sometimes that's not quite the case here and the role changes. That produces challenges for us and in the environment because they all want to play, but I'd much rather it that way than the other way.'

Bumps and bruises forced Borthwick's hand with selection. Maro Itoje missed training on Monday and Tuesday so has been moved to the bench. Tom Roebuck's ankle injury triggered a backline shuffle, with Ollie Lawrence recalled in the midfield. And Steward's hand injury opened the door for Smith to send another reminder of his talents.