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#Post#: 136543--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith is in danger of failing to master fly-half
craft
DIR By: Quinky
Date: April 10, 2025, 8:16 am
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Rassie played at the top level 😊
#Post#: 136571--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith is in danger of failing to master fly-half
craft
DIR By: Quinten Poulsen
Date: April 11, 2025, 4:17 pm
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While I'm sure Marcus can and will continue to improve, he
mastered the fly half craft a good while ago. He's not having a
great season because he's playing in a weak and inconsistant
club side, and has been messed about in an international side
that has spent much of the recent past paying lip service to
attacking rugby.
#Post#: 136575--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith is in danger of failing to master fly-half
craft
DIR By: poorfour
Date: April 12, 2025, 5:13 am
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In one respect, they might be right. Marcus does not play a
conventional fly half role at Quins. Quins have said they want
Marcus to manage the space, and ask the 9 to do the game
management role that most fly halves also do.
I wonder if this might be the root of the criticism he gets at
international level. He’s not used to being a conventional game
manager, especially at the pace of international rugby, and
England have never adopted the tactics or selection to adapt for
that.
The closest was when he played with Farrell, who does that role
par excellence, and often stepped in at first receiver when the
defence was set, with Marcus supposedly free to exploit the
space on the next phase. Unfortunately, what tended to happen
was that the rest of the team didn’t know what they were doing,
and Marcus spent most of his time organising them with only
occasional opportunities to show what he could do.
Borthwick’s game plan is more conventional and is based much
more on game management and precision kicking to put pressure on
the opposition. Even so, I think Marcus’s influence off the ball
has been seriously underrated by most pundits and fans. He pulls
defences out of shape just by being in their eye line.
#Post#: 136581--------------------------------------------------
Re: Marcus Smith is in danger of failing to master fly-half
craft
DIR By: JammyGit
Date: April 12, 2025, 2:08 pm
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And yet the last match England played, they played off 9 almost
entirely.
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