Borthwick faces kicker conundrum after Smith misses cost England | Robert Kitson

Borthwick faces kicker conundrum after Smith misses cost England | Robert Kitson

Agonising defeat to New Zealand highlighted fine margins but handing duties to Henry Slade could strengthen team

Anyone who has ever played sport knows that desperate sinking feeling. One minute the world is a wonderful place and you are doing what you love most. Then, out of nowhere, it all goes completely Pete Tong. That costly lapse in concentration, that tiny missed putt, that simple dropped catch. Heartbreak is as much a part of the game – perhaps more so – as heroism or happiness.

And the more extravagantly talented the individual, the worse it can be. Higher standards are demanded. They can suddenly be accused of letting down not just their team-mates but the entire country. Television cameras highlight every facial twitch. And here come the rest of the media pack to pick over the entrails, particularly if the scoreboard says the moment of fallibility was the difference between winning and losing. Call it the Riddle Of Rory McIlroy.

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