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#Post#: 132685--------------------------------------------------
Marcus Smith: I am a fly-half – that’s where I want to play
DIR By: deadlyfrom5yardsout
Date: January 12, 2025, 2:33 am
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Exclusive: Harlequins playmaker would rather wear the No 10
shirt for England and aims to entertain terrestrial viewers of
the Six Nations
Marcus Smith, Harlequins and England back
Marcus Smith considers himself an entertainer and wants England
to play attractive rugby to engage new fans
Daniel Schofield
Deputy Rugby Union Correspondent
12 January 2025 7:30am GMT
Daniel Schofield
After finishing England’s Autumn Nations Series at full back,
Marcus Smith has reiterated his burning desire to enter the Six
Nations as his country’s starting fly-half.
In an otherwise disappointing autumn campaign, Smith was by far
England’s brightest attacking spark. The Harlequins playmaker
started all four matches in the No 10 shirt but was switched to
full-back in the second half of the 59-14 victory against Japan
to accommodate namesake Fin Smith at fly-half.
Several commentators are calling for England head coach Steve
Borthwick to reprise the same combination going into their
opening Six Nations game against Ireland in Dublin on Feb 1,
particularly since first-choice full-back George Furbank is
absent through injury. The elder Smith has been likened to
Damian McKenzie, the All Black who is equally comfortable at No
10 or No 15, and while the 25-year-old takes the comparison as a
compliment, he still sees himself as a specialist fly-half.
“I am not shy in saying I want to play at 10,” Smith told
Telegraph Sport. “One of the main reasons I played rugby as a
kid was watching guys like Jonny Wilkinson and Dan Carter. I
want to emulate them and follow in their footsteps in terms of
playing at No 10. I enjoy getting my hands on the ball and I
believe I am a No 10.
Dan Carter of the All Blacks charges upfield during the
international match between Scotland and New Zealand at
Murrayfield Stadium on November 11, 2012 in Edinburgh
It was watching players such as All Black legend Dan Carter than
convinced Smith to take up rugby Credit: Getty Images/David
Rogers
“However, I guess it is a blessing and I am very grateful that I
am able to cover multiple positions and, whatever position I am
in, I will do my very best to perform to the highest of my
ability to help the team.
“Damian is an excellent player, extremely talented. It is a
credit to the player because he can so seamlessly drop in at 10
or 15 and start at 10 and move to 15. That’s a gift and he is
very lucky to have that. I have played against him a couple of
times now and he is very difficult to analyse because you don’t
know where he is going to play and you don’t know what he is
going to do.”
Part of the reason for the debate about moving Smith to
full-back is that, while he shone as an individual in the
autumn, England’s backline frequently struggled to cohere. The
argument goes that promoting Fin to fly-half would help unlock
the team’s attack without losing Marcus’ ability to pull a
rabbit out of a hat.
Perhaps it is unfair to paint Fin as the steady game-manager in
contrast to Marcus’ unpredictable maverick, even if the latter
recognises that is the style that he most admires. “The way I
have learnt my rugby, the way I have grown up I was watching
guys like Carlos Spencer and the Fijian rugby sevens team,”
Smith said. “You are a product of your environment and your
upbringing. That’s what I was exposed to from a very young age.
I guess that’s the picture I have in my mind of how I see rugby
and that’s the beauty of sport and of rugby is that everyone
sees the game slightly differently.
“Every fly-half will have different triggers, different opinions
on certain situations and that’s why it is so attractive. That’s
my constant challenge and I guess the evolution of my game,
hopefully when I get to my peak in a couple of years, I see a
game where I can produce bits of magic but be very pragmatic at
the same time within a couple of minutes.”
Conversely, Smith’s biggest strength – his unpredictability – as
an attacking fly-half can also prove the greatest challenge for
his team-mates. At Harlequins, the likes of Danny Care, Alex
Dombrandt and Cadan Murley have learnt to anticipate Smith’s
subtlest cues honed from many seasons together. Time is not such
a luxury at Test level and Smith says it is incumbent on him to
ensure everyone in the England set-up can tune into his
particular wavelength.
“For me, being potentially unpredictable, that makes it even
more important to get on the same page as my centres and my
wingers so that I understand what they want from me and, on the
flip side, they know what I need from them as well,” Smith said.
“If we get that balance then we will be very difficult to stop.
Smith striving to foster strong chemistry between team-mates
“That’s the biggest thing I have learnt over the last couple of
years, watching the Quarterback series on Netflix and watching
the Aaron Rodgers documentary, you see how much time and effort
they spend on the relationship part of it and how much time they
spend in their downtime discussing how you want the passes to be
given to you and when they want the ball. As a fly-half, it is
my job and my responsibility to get everyone on the same page as
quickly as possible.”
From fostering attacking cohesion to goal-kicking, Smith already
has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders but even in an
England team in dire need of another signature win, he believes
that he has an additional duty: to entertain.
A budding darts enthusiast himself with a best checkout of 58,
Smith is envious of the Luke Littler effect, with the teenager
having lodged himself firmly in the national consciousness with
victory at the recent World Championships. “What Luke has done
for darts and the whole sport has been remarkable,” Smith said.
“I’ve heard that dartboards are going out of stock in shops
because of what he has done.”
Heading into the Six Nations, which will be followed by a Lions
tour to Australia, Smith senses a similar opportunity for rugby
to propel itself into the national spotlight. “Ultimately we are
entertainers,” Smith said. “Obviously, winning encourages people
to come as well but if you win with style, and with a bit of
entertainment, it makes it a lot better.
“The Six Nations is the perfect opportunity to do that,
especially with it being on terrestrial television as well, so
it is more accessible to everyone here in the UK as well as
around the world. Fingers crossed it really increases viewership
and numbers. That’s our job to entertain on the field and, off
the back of that, encourage people to get involved.”
Marcus Smith was speaking on behalf of Sage – the Official
Insights Partner of the Guinness Men’s & Women’s Six Nations.
Discover more rugby insights and how Sage can support your
business at
HTML http://sage.com/rugby
#Post#: 132789--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith: I am a fly-half – that’s where I want to play
DIR By: Quinky
Date: January 12, 2025, 9:49 am
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I wonder why people who are desperate to have Fin Smith playing
never suggest putting him at fullback?
#Post#: 132793--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith: I am a fly-half – that’s where I want to play
DIR By: JammyGit
Date: January 12, 2025, 10:15 am
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Because they think Fin is the better flyhalf
#Post#: 132840--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith: I am a fly-half – that’s where I want to play
DIR By: Thegp
Date: January 12, 2025, 3:09 pm
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You have to pick your best players to win the match
No point picking Marcus at FH unless Borthwick plays to his
strengths which he doesn’t currently
#Post#: 132842--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith: I am a fly-half – that’s where I want to play
DIR By: Quinky
Date: January 12, 2025, 3:51 pm
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--- Quote from: JammyGit link ---
>
> Because they think Fin is the better flyhalf
>
--- End Quote ---
They're deluded.
#Post#: 132847--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith: I am a fly-half – that’s where I want to play
DIR By: Jimmy G
Date: January 12, 2025, 5:11 pm
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Or maybe Fin suits Borthwicks England better than Marcus.
#Post#: 132859--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith: I am a fly-half – that’s where I want to play
DIR By: Quinky
Date: January 13, 2025, 3:27 am
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--- Quote from: Jimmy G link ---
>
> Or maybe Fin suits Borthwicks England better than Marcus.
>
--- End Quote ---
Assuming he has a plan.
#Post#: 132867--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith: I am a fly-half – that’s where I want to play
DIR By: JammyGit
Date: January 13, 2025, 3:54 am
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--- Quote from: Jimmy G link ---
>
> Or maybe Fin suits Borthwicks England better than Marcus.
>
--- End Quote ---
It's possible, but his use of Marcus suggests he strongly
recognises that his team requires some individual attacking
genius because otherwise the game plan is a painfully limited
one that does not beat good teams.
Genuinely, I'm excited to see what Fin can do for England if he
gets a start, and I'm annoyed that Borthwick was too chicken to
give him the Japan game along with some other players in similar
situations. But if the game plan doesn't evolve I'm not sure
what benefit we'll get from the change
#Post#: 132871--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith: I am a fly-half – that’s where I want to play
DIR By: poorfour
Date: January 13, 2025, 4:18 am
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It's a genuine dilemma.
Fin plays in a style more familiar to most of the players, and I
think that means he's more effective in bringing players into
the game in situations where structured play is effective. What
he hasn't shown is the ability to create opportunities in the
red zone where defences are tighter and the windows of
opportunity are slammed shut faster.
Marcus is the opposite way round. In phase play, too often for
England the other players aren't where he needs them to be to be
most effective, and when that happens he's still somewhat prone
to trying stuff himself that would work at club level but not
international level. But he is demonstrably capable of creating
try scoring opportunities once the team gets into the 22.
I would say that both styles need changes to the wider team to
be effective. For Fin to create in the red zone, he needs a pack
that will draw in more defenders and create the space out wide.
For Marcus to really boss the game, he needs more players
running hard lines and giving him options. Having the likes of
Marchant, Murley or Green (as of this summer) in the mix would
improve things a lot.
Note that these aren't mutually exclusive - ideally England
would do both and then have the enviable position of being able
to select the right fly half for the opposition and conditions.
#Post#: 132877--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith: I am a fly-half – that’s where I want to play
DIR By: Quinoa
Date: January 13, 2025, 6:00 am
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There's no doubt that Marcus Smith has all the talent to be a
top test quality player. The problem is, at test level, the 10
needs a different mindset to the natural instincts that Marcus
has, and you can see why coaches are wary about having him as
their main man. Arguably, it requires a greater skill to bring
the best out of those players around you than it does to create
individual moments of brilliance.
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