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#Post#: 150826--------------------------------------------------
Marcus Smith to win 50th cap but England still have no idea how
to use him
DIR By: ChiddQuin
Date: March 12, 2026, 10:27 am
---------------------------------------------------------
HTML https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2026/03/12/marcus-smith-50th-cap-england-france-six-nations-borthwick/
Few players have had a stranger journey to 50 caps than Marcus
Smith, from “Next Big Thing” to incumbent No 10 to converted
full-back and now utility man with a couple of spells in the
wilderness thrown in for good measure.
This assumes Smith comes off the bench against France on
Saturday night. These days it’s no sure thing. Against Italy,
Smith was given the last six minutes after Leonardo Marin had
scored a try.
Still, at least the 27-year-old is trusted by the Rugby Football
Union’s marketing team, even if he is not by his head coach. It
seemed significant that it was Smith – in conjunction with Henry
Pollock – who was used to launch the RFU’s ticketing drive for
the Nations Championship. There is no doubting his popularity
among younger supporters nor his marketability, acting as the
clothes horse for dressmaker Charles Tyrwhitt, who curiously
describe him as an “England legend”.
Yet the only shirt he truly wants to wear is the England No 10
one, which he last had on his back against Ireland in the
opening game of last year’s Six Nations as the Harlequins
playmaker was first leapfrogged by Fin Smith and then George
Ford. When he will have it back is anyone’s guess.
England's fly-half Marcus Smith (C) runs with the ball
Smith has not been trusted at No 10 by Borthwick since 2025
Credit: Paul Faith/Getty Images
Interestingly, England head coach Steve Borthwick has already
drawn a parallel between the current sticky period and the
trough England experienced in 2018. With his job on the line,
head coach Eddie Jones turned to Danny Cipriani, who engineered
a 25-10 victory over South Africa in Cape Town, saving the
Australian from the axe.
While their personalities are markedly different, there appears
to be a similar level of distrust around Smith as there was with
Cipriani. Whether rightly or wrongly, once a perception is
formed, it will stick like the proverbial brown stuff. “Marcus
is actually very astute in the way he plays,” Nick Evans, the
Harlequins attack coach, said. “He has certainly shown in the
Prem and big European games for us that he can manage a game
really well.
“He is like a Damian McKenzie who has this ability to light up a
game and see things that others don’t. Sometimes that can be
pigeonholed as maverick and not being able to lead a game. He’s
different. He is different to a Farrell, he is different to a
Ford, he is different to a Fin Smith. Sometimes he does an
unbelievable thing and sometimes it pigeonholes you as not being
able to run or lead a game.
“I think your head coach and fly-half have to align. I felt that
in my playing career and in my coaching career as well. You are
relying them as a game leader to implement a plan. Some teams
allow for improvisation and playing what you see and some teams
and coaches don’t. He has found over the last couple of years
that has been a real struggle. At times he has done really well
and at times he has found it really hard. Unfortunately, you
have a head coach who probably does not trust him to implement a
plan or way of playing, which he is having to fight. Sometimes
he does that well, sometimes he doesn’t.”
Evans was involved in Borthwick’s first Six Nations campaign on
secondment from Harlequins and found the dynamic between Smith,
Farrell and Ford fascinating. Coming out of the 2023 World Cup,
Smith was finally given the keys at fly-half by Borthwick for
the 2024 Six Nations.
This coincided with some of England’s best attacking
performances, most notably in the home win over Ireland and the
33-31 defeat away to France.
Smith was undoubtedly England’s best player through 2024, but
crucially, the team kept coming up short in big games for which
Evans believes he was made a “scapegoat”. The 27-22 defeat to
Ireland in the opening game of the 2025 Six Nations proved to be
the final straw. Since then, Smith has been given the occasional
cameo at full-back but is more commonly employed as a utility
player.
Frequently, he finds himself caught between two stools: playing
the game that England want him to implement and relying upon his
natural instincts.
“He loves playing for England,” Evans said. “He is extremely
passionate and extremely driven to be the best No 10 in the
world. There’s no doubt in his desire to improve. he wants to be
the starting 10 for England, so he will work on the things he is
given by the England camp and implement that at Quins. Sometimes
that can be hard.
“We want Marcus to manage the game but we certainly want to give
him the opportunity to play what he sees. One thing he has
learnt from England is that international rugby demands a
certain skillset and the consequences of over playing or wrong
decisions can cost points and cost tries. You can get caught
between the two where you want to come back and impress for the
club but also learn your lessons from Test rugby. He has been
great in that respect.”
‘Marcus is so skilful a rances
Daniel Schofield
Deputy Rugby Union Correspondent Daniel Schofield
Daniel joined The Telegraph in 2014 after working as a sports
reporter at The Times. See more
Published 12 March 2026 12:00pm GMT
Related Topics
Marcus Smith, England Rugby Union Team, Six Nations, Steve
Borthwick
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England's Marcus Smith reacts after the Guinness Men's Six
Nations match
Marcus Smith could reach a notable landmark this weekend but his
England career is far from clear Credit: Adam Davy/PA
Few players have had a stranger journey to 50 caps than Marcus
Smith, from “Next Big Thing” to incumbent No 10 to converted
full-back and now utility man with a couple of spells in the
wilderness thrown in for good measure.
This assumes Smith comes off the bench against France on
Saturday night. These days it’s no sure thing. Against Italy,
Smith was given the last six minutes after Leonardo Marin had
scored a try.
Still, at least the 27-year-old is trusted by the Rugby Football
Union’s marketing team, even if he is not by his head coach. It
seemed significant that it was Smith – in conjunction with Henry
Pollock – who was used to launch the RFU’s ticketing drive for
the Nations Championship. There is no doubting his popularity
among younger supporters nor his marketability, acting as the
clothes horse for dressmaker Charles Tyrwhitt, who curiously
describe him as an “England legend”.
Yet the only shirt he truly wants to wear is the England No 10
one, which he last had on his back against Ireland in the
opening game of last year’s Six Nations as the Harlequins
playmaker was first leapfrogged by Fin Smith and then George
Ford. When he will have it back is anyone’s guess.
England's fly-half Marcus Smith (C) runs with the ball
Smith has not been trusted at No 10 by Borthwick since 2025
Credit: Paul Faith/Getty Images
Interestingly, England head coach Steve Borthwick has already
drawn a parallel between the current sticky period and the
trough England experienced in 2018. With his job on the line,
head coach Eddie Jones turned to Danny Cipriani, who engineered
a 25-10 victory over South Africa in Cape Town, saving the
Australian from the axe.
While their personalities are markedly different, there appears
to be a similar level of distrust around Smith as there was with
Cipriani. Whether rightly or wrongly, once a perception is
formed, it will stick like the proverbial brown stuff. “Marcus
is actually very astute in the way he plays,” Nick Evans, the
Harlequins attack coach, said. “He has certainly shown in the
Prem and big European games for us that he can manage a game
really well.
“He is like a Damian McKenzie who has this ability to light up a
game and see things that others don’t. Sometimes that can be
pigeonholed as maverick and not being able to lead a game. He’s
different. He is different to a Farrell, he is different to a
Ford, he is different to a Fin Smith. Sometimes he does an
unbelievable thing and sometimes it pigeonholes you as not being
able to run or lead a game.
“I think your head coach and fly-half have to align. I felt that
in my playing career and in my coaching career as well. You are
relying them as a game leader to implement a plan. Some teams
allow for improvisation and playing what you see and some teams
and coaches don’t. He has found over the last couple of years
that has been a real struggle. At times he has done really well
and at times he has found it really hard. Unfortunately, you
have a head coach who probably does not trust him to implement a
plan or way of playing, which he is having to fight. Sometimes
he does that well, sometimes he doesn’t.”
Evans was involved in Borthwick’s first Six Nations campaign on
secondment from Harlequins and found the dynamic between Smith,
Farrell and Ford fascinating. Coming out of the 2023 World Cup,
Smith was finally given the keys at fly-half by Borthwick for
the 2024 Six Nations.
This coincided with some of England’s best attacking
performances, most notably in the home win over Ireland and the
33-31 defeat away to France.
Smith was undoubtedly England’s best player through 2024, but
crucially, the team kept coming up short in big games for which
Evans believes he was made a “scapegoat”. The 27-22 defeat to
Ireland in the opening game of the 2025 Six Nations proved to be
the final straw. Since then, Smith has been given the occasional
cameo at full-back but is more commonly employed as a utility
player.
Frequently, he finds himself caught between two stools: playing
the game that England want him to implement and relying upon his
natural instincts.
“He loves playing for England,” Evans said. “He is extremely
passionate and extremely driven to be the best No 10 in the
world. There’s no doubt in his desire to improve. he wants to be
the starting 10 for England, so he will work on the things he is
given by the England camp and implement that at Quins. Sometimes
that can be hard.
“We want Marcus to manage the game but we certainly want to give
him the opportunity to play what he sees. One thing he has
learnt from England is that international rugby demands a
certain skillset and the consequences of over playing or wrong
decisions can cost points and cost tries. You can get caught
between the two where you want to come back and impress for the
club but also learn your lessons from Test rugby. He has been
great in that respect.”
‘Marcus is so skilful and he is being wasted by England’
Another club coach bemoans Smith’s fate in even starker terms.
“Marcus could be our (Mathieu) Jalibert but now he’s
second-guessing himself,” a source said. “I hate watching him
now because he is so skilful and he is being wasted.”
Whatever private frustrations Smith might be feeling, we do not
know. He is seldom put up for media duty with England and
Harlequins. Reaching a half-century of Test caps for your
country is an impressive achievement that deserves to be
celebrated, but for now, Smith has become England’s lost boy
trapped in a Neverland.
“Where he is now, he has to wait for another opportunity,” Evans
said. “With the results the way they are, I am hoping he gets
one in the near future and when that happens the ball is in his
court and he has to perform. That’s ultimately what every
professional athlete does. When that opportunity comes,
sometimes it cements you in your position and you stay there for
a long term and sometimes you are in and out and have to wait
for another opportunity to show what you can do and what you are
really made of.
“I think Marcus has to be patient. He has got to be ready and
waiting for that opportunity to come, whether it is half an hour
at the end of a Test match to win the game or another start
where he gets an opportunity to show his skillset that is needed
from him. He is picked for England because he can change the
game.
“Whether he has been used properly like that is for you guys to
decide but he is picked for his ability to change a game, impact
a game and see things other don’t. He needs to marry that with
the ability to run a Test match from a tactical point of view.”
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