Jeremy Guscott's main issue with 'maverick' Marcus Smith

With George Ford the man chosen to lead England’s attack from fly-half in Saturday’s Six Nations opener against Wales at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, Marcus Smith once again has to settle for a place on the bench.

Whereas Smith started 11 of the 12 England Tests that preceded the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in 2024/25, he has only been handed one start since then, at 15 against Fiji, the lowest-ranked opposition that England faced in November.

The Harlequins playmaker now appears to be third-choice fly-half behind Ford and a fit Fin Smith and no better than second-choice full-back, with Freddie Steward back in favour.

For England legend Jeremy Guscott, the 46-cap England international needs to be more selfless in his approach if he is to wrestle his way back into the No.10 jersey.

“The main issue is that where Fin Smith and (George) Ford are similar in terms of being steady and consistent, by comparison Marcus is a maverick – and, because of that tendency, he has to think more about how he plays for England,” Guscott wrote in his regular column in The Rugby Paper.

“Marcus has a big input into the Quins game-plan, but unless England have suddenly become brilliant at adapting, they will not want him to go off script. In simple terms, Marcus Smith has to adapt to England rather than expect the team, and coaches, to adapt to him.”