'Free swing': Marcus Smith demands England 'stand up and fight' against Ireland
Marcus Smith insists England are ready to climb off the canvas for their shot to nothing in Dublin as they look to avoid another Guinness Six Nations mismatch.
Smith views Saturday’s showdown with Grand Slam-chasing Ireland at the Aviva Stadium as a “free swing” on the basis no one is giving England even a puncher’s chance of ruining the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Having crashed to a record-breaking 53-10 defeat by France at Twickenham in round four, they have been installed as 7-1 underdogs to upstage the world’s number one ranked side in their last competitive fixture before the World Cup.
Failure would see them finish with just two wins for a third successive Six Nations, but Smith insists his team will come out fighting.
“We’re in a tough period at the minute and it’s perfect for us,” the Harlequins fly-half said.
“We’ve got to get better quickly because the challenge doesn’t come much greater than Ireland away in Dublin.
“There’s only one way to go now and that’s to stand up and fight as hard as we can and play as hard as we can for the shirt.
“We’ve spoken about sticking together because there’s going to be a lot of noise and a lot of pressure on us. We’ve got to become tighter as opposed to splinter.
“This is a big test of our togetherness as a squad and of our resolve. There’s no better week for this than a free swing at Ireland.
“Time is against us, but I believe we’ve still got time. With the characters we’ve got in the group we can turn things around very quickly.
“We’ve got a week now to right some wrongs and we’ve got to get on the same page quickly.”
France amassed seven tries as they rampaged through Twickenham, inflicting England’s heaviest defeat in the tournament since it was founded in 1882.
“We didn’t build up in the week to lose like that,” said Smith, whose return at fly-half quickly turned into a nightmare as England were pulverised in the contact area.
“We’ll look at our individual performances and team performance because, with where we want to go in the next six months and in the years ahead, that wasn’t good enough.
“We’ll work as hard as we can this week to be better, but it’s a good indicator of where we are on this journey.”
Ollie Lawrence has been ruled out of the climax to the Six Nations because of a hamstring injury, placing Manu Tuilagi in the frame to fill the vacancy at inside centre.
Comments on RugbyPass
The value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
10 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
39 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
10 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
39 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
39 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
51 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
39 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
39 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
39 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
39 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to comments