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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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Furbank is by far the best fullback in England, unfortunately currently suffering with a broken arm.
Freeman has played at fullback but is too good on the wing to move. The other serious contender is George Hendy, who is equally as good at full back or wing. Hendy is still learning but he shoild definitely be in the mix for 2027. 6 nations may be a little too soon, though he should definitely be on the summer tour.
Freddie Steward seems to lack vision in going forwards.
If Marcus Smith had been at Flyhalf i dont think we would have scored the tries we did. He sees the gaps and goes for them, as opposed to Fin Smith who sees the gaps but also makes use of others. Marcus plays to make Marcus look good, Fin plays to make the team look good.
Rugby in England is very conservative. Marcus Smith ,and Danny Cipriani , both instinctive mercurial Rugby players playmakers. Don't fit the mould. The England management want a blue eyed Public Or Grammar school boy with a sensible Blonde haircut Who kicks a lot. Amazed me how Jeremy Guscott and Jason Robinson got in the team.Probably the best backs England have ever had
Thought it was good dropping Ben Earl deep to support Smith and make some hard yards on some of the kick counters
The problem with England fullbacks is, that neither of them is the full product.
Steward is supreme in the air, and can carry hard, but that’s about that. He’s nowhere close to being as fast and agile as the top international 15 needs to be. He gets stepped by forwards.
Marcus as a 15 is excellent offensively, he brings an element of creative unpredictability, and the opposition simply cannot afford to let him wind up a run. But he’s pretty poor defensively, he swallows every dummy, hook line and sinker, and much like Steward is guaranteed to cost England tries.
Furbank is the closest to the complete article England have at their disposal. When he’s on, he’s a weapon without a significant downside. But he’s a bit injury prone, so England have to have alternatives ready.
Maybe Hendy deserves a look, maybe Freeman could do the job. He’s better in the air than Marcus, he’s not as defensively naïve, and he’s a much bigger body, that won’t be run through so easily. Maybe he’s the Steward with less downside, but without Marcus’ offensive upside.
Not an easy call, indeed. Plenty of options, none of them ideal. It looks like horses for courses for the foreseeable future.
Marcus is great in attack, if your idea of a great attack involves knocking the ball on every 2 seconds.
Furbank, Steward, and Hendy are the ppl who'll be fighting for the shirt in 2027. Freeman might also be amongst our best fullbacks, but he's too good on the wing to move from there.
All the talk of Marcus Smith not being a full back due to his size.... Anyone remember Jason Robinson? Remember the RWC final where he hot exposed to a high ball?
Like Jason, Marcus creates doubt in the opposition.
Yes Steward is good in the air and carries strong but he is easy to defend against same could be said against Furbank. These days defences are so well organised and phased play so well scripted you need someone who can pull defences out of alignment, create panic and sow seeds of distrust in the defensive mindset.
This could be seen on Saturday when Marcus joined the attacking line the French defenders went with him. Look at the Tommy Freeman kick pass try. Marcus Smith runs a dummy line to the French Right. The French full back follows him in the back field meaning that the French left winger is now exposed.
Smith has been Englands standout player for the last year...but he isn't a full back. Its almost like he was set up to fail so boring borthers can sideline him and go back to kick chase rugby.
The best 15 in the prem is Tyrone Green, hands down! Who qualifies for England this year, if the Boks don't want him we should.
He's not a fullback. The French put him under no pressure aerially and he's shown in other games he struggles to make one on one tackles due to his size (not for lack of effort, he gives it a go!).
It's good that he's gotten some game time at 15 to give him more flexibility as a utility/impact sub. Long term we need to find a proper replacement for Furbank.
Not a lot of standout 15 options in the Prem right now. Malins is a similar sort of player to Furbank but hasn't really made any significant claim to the shirt, although I hope he can regain some form and push for a place in the squad. Would like to see Roebuck play some 15 for Sale, he's great aerially and a silky runner. He may have a better chance at England caps if he can get some time at 15 under his belt.
Furbank seems to be England’s first choice full back. If he is injured, then in my view, Borthers and co should select the second best full back who plays like Furbank. That’s not Freddie Steward, who is a very good full back but plays very differently. Nor is it Marcus Smith, who is a playmaker but not a full back. It’s tough on both Freddie and Marcus, but I don’t see them as regular starters for England, unless or until the coaching team rip up the current, still nascent, game plan.
Freddie Steward is a pretty great fullback!
Tom Roebuck maybe could play 15, but not sure why he'd need to move there. He's great aerially and a silky runner, which are both things you'd want from a winger just as much as you would from a fullback. If England want to move a wing to fullback then Freeman might make the most sense, given he's already played a there quite a bit.
George Hendy might be the long term successor to Furbank, and someone who can provide utility across the back three. Tobias Elliott and Henry Arundell might also come into the squad sometime soon as options across the back three. Arundell's kicking isn't quite good enough to be a regular international fullback, but his counter attacking is so good he might be given some time there against particular opponents. Elliott has mostly played on the wing, but he does have a decent kicking game and can function as a playmaker, so could be a good option slide over to 15 as he gets more experience.
It was always going to be fun to see the Marcus sycophants seeth when England finally started winning with a proper playmaker at 10!
Maybe Marcus will get a chance when Fin is away with the Lions this summer. Maybe. Personally I really hope not.
I am beginning to think Marcus Smith is a latter day Danny Cipriani, all the skills but cannot gel with the players around him. Great with regular team mates but a maveric at international level.
Not a full back