England boss Borthwick so impressed with partnership of Saints half-backs

The England boss has been hugely impressed with the Saints duo, and noted their mature showing in the win at Munster as a key performance.

Mitchell and Smith shone at Thomond Park, steering 14-man Saints to a stunning 26-23 victory in the Investec Champions Cup Pool 3 match.

Smith stepped up with the boot, providing such accuracy from the tee and with ball in hand, landing a special drop goal that proved vital for his side.

And ahead of England's Guinness Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome, Borthwick has given glowing praise to Saints' half-back combination.

"There's been some definite changes in style of play and Northampton is one case in point that played the conditions incredibly well (at Munster)," Borthwick said.

"The partnership that Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith have developed has accelerated beyond any expectation. They have shown their ability to handle those key pressure moments.

"In every game, there are key pressure points and in their game against Munster at Thomond Park, there were a lot of key pressure points, from cards to penalties, choosing to take drop goals, kicking the goals.

"Those were key pressure points and they handled them brilliantly.

"When I talk about the nature of the English teams being more competitive, there are more pressure points in the games.

"The Premiership Rugby games are tighter, every game matters more so you end up with these key pressure points.

"I'm seeing much more of these moments that are much more representative of what Test rugby is like so I think it's a step forward towards Test rugby."