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What rugby fans are saying about England's Marcus Smith at fullback
By Ian Cameron
Rugby fans have been left well and truly polarised by England’s Marcus Smith and his at fullback in their Round 2 Guinness Six Nations win over France on Saturday.
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Head coach Steve Borthwick raised eyebrows by installing Fin Smith at fly-half and shifting the usually dependable Freddie Steward to the bench, handing Marcus Smith the No.15 jersey for the first time under his tenure.
Earlier in the week Borthwick had explained the selection by highlighting the importance of fielding two prominent playmakers in the same backline.
Borthwick suggested the selection would allow Fin Smith to direct proceedings at fly-half while giving Marcus Smith a chance to inject his creative spark from the back, and he was proven correct to at least some degree. While he missed two kickable shots at goal and was responsible for a couple of errors covering back, he also showed that as an attacking force he can worry the very best teams in the sport.
Yet despite the positives, the jury remains out on whether the Harlequins standoff has a future at the fullback at Test level.
Former Ireland international Rob Kearney speaking on Virgin Media Sports on Irish television said he saw glimpses of promise in Marcus Smith’s performance but remained cautious about reading too much into one game: “There were elements of his game today that were good. He brought the game to the French, when he brought some of those loose kicks back. He looked exciting and took it to them. He sparked a little bit of belief for England.
“He’s decent aerially. He’s not soft in the air but I think you get some of those more tighter games and everyone starts to tighten up a little bit more and the aerial game becomes bigger and there’s more bombs, that’s when you want a Freddie Smith [sic, Steward] player there.”
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His performance produced a range of reactions on social media. Some fans were completely sold on Smith at fullback, with one calling him “10/10” and another tweeting: “Could be our Barrett. He did nothing to show he couldn’t play there,” while another fan suggested that he “sews an element of doubt into the opposition’s minds” that no other current English 15 can.
Others were more measured. One observer who wrote: “He was good at times, not ideal in others. He’s not a fullback. He had a bad kicking day, but he’s normally very reliable there. 5/10 overall.”
Another insisted that England’s long-term plan should revert to Marcus Smith at fly-half, calling him “the best fly-half in England.”
Others were pointed in the criticism, one writing: “Shockingly bad – he should be dropped – massively overrated and we should play a specialist fullback” while another suggested he had “played himself out of” a British & Irish Lions spot.
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“In addition to his missed conversions, Marcus Smith’s handling errors in his own half put England under significant pressure, and his dropped ball in France’s 5-meter area squandered a try-scoring opportunity,” wrote another dissatisfied X user.
Whether Marcus Smith remains at fullback will depend on whims of Borthwick’s selections but maybe more so on the return to fitness of Northampton Saints’ fullback George Furbank, who’s is viewed by most as England’s incumbent 15.
One thing is clear, given how well Fin Smith played at flyhalf, it’s hard to see Borthwick dropping him in favour of returning the Harlequin to ten.
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