Could Freddie Steward emerge as a solution to England’s fly-half dilemma? The improved form of the Leicester full-back has been timely for Steve Borthwick, given the injury to George Furbank, who is unlikely to feature in the Six Nations Championship after breaking his arm last month.

Yet Steward’s expected recall to the starting XV to face Ireland in the opening round of the championship in Dublin on February 1 could have wider implications than simply as Furbank’s direct replacement.

While Borthwick invested in Marcus Smith as England’s first-choice fly-half last year, the cameo by Fin Smith off the bench against Japan, with Marcus dropping to full-back, gave supporters an intriguing glimpse into the attacking potential of a back line featuring both of them.

The challenge for Borthwick is that with England’s opening game of the Six Nations away to Ireland and with the directive introduced last autumn to allow fairer aerial contests by penalising ‘escort’ runners, Marcus Smith, who is 5ft 9in, is likely to find himself targeted if he is switched to full-back.

England know, however, that to combat Ireland’s kicking strategy, which often features James Lowe’s left foot for huge clearances, the ability to have a player like Furbank or Marcus Smith to run the ball back and attack space with footwork is key, as they proved so effectively in their surprise victory over Andy Farrell’s side at Twickenham last season.

The likelihood is that Marcus Smith will continue in his role as England’s starting fly-half, but the return of the 6ft 5in Steward, whom Borthwick praised for improving both his speed and distribution skills, at full-back could allow Smith to switch roles to the backfield early in the second half, with Steward switching to the wing but providing extra cover if Ireland kick for an aerial contest.

“It’s something I would consider especially in this contestable game, the nature is we know Freddy’s got a super-strength there,” said Borthwick, when asked if switching Steward to the wing was a possibility. “I’ll also say his carrying work has been very good.

“We’ve seen steady improvements. He was challenged a good period ago about developing pace and he’s gone away and worked and he’s got faster and improved his pace. So I think Fred on the wing is certainly a possibility, certainly when you start talking about combinations, when you start talking about whether you go 6-2 [six forwards and two backs on the bench].

“Look at the number of players we’ve got in the back row and the quality we have there, and then you start looking at Marcus and where he starts, his versatility, Freddie’s versatility, Elliot Daly’s versatility. I like players who have got the ability to move positions.”

What seems certain is that Marcus Smith, whatever his number in the starting XV, can expect to pop up in the backfield more often for England this year, given the increase in broken-field play the change to the aerial contest is now producing at international level.

“I think that’s certainly one of the factors that definitely needs to be considered with the kicking law – not being able to create an escort for the catcher. The change that happened prior to the autumn series has fundamentally changed the game,” Borthwick added.

“We’re seeing about two thirds more unstructured start points to what the game had before, so we’re seeing more of these contests and more unstructured ball. So I think that high-ball catches are really, really important and it’s not just a full-back, you put the full-back on one side and people try to target the other side of the pitch, so that’s certainly one of the considerations.

“And tactically, when we’re assessing the opposition, assessing how we want to play, how many of these contestable kicks there are. When the game does open up, when the game is more unstructured, that’s where a player of Marcus’s strength can really take advantage of that space when there is fatigue in the players’ legs, when there is more space on the pitch. I think that’s where somebody like Marcus can really take advantage.

“Ireland have got many strengths, one of their great strengths is how they get out of their own 22 and how far they kick the ball. They can pin you back so you can’t let them out as they normally do because they’re very efficient at it. Then you have to make a decision on what you do on any kick-return strategy.

“We had been working on our kick return for a number of weeks and it came on to the grass against Ireland [at Twickenham]. At the start of the Six Nations we will be building on what we’ve worked on last year but we also want to add some other dimensions to our attacking game. I think you have to put pressure on Ireland’s exits because they’re very good at them and if you get the opportunity, decision-making around when you carry back and which way you attack is very important.”