The Ben Youngs verdict on Marcus Smith's cameo at scrum-half

Former England scrum-half Ben Youngs has backed Marcus Smith to reprise his role at scrum-half again this Saturday against Argentina in round three of the Nations Championship in Santiago del Estero.

Having originally started at full-back against Fiji at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, Smith played the final quarter at scrum-half following a hamstring injury to replacement No.9 Alex Mitchell as England scored a further four tries.

Mitchell has been ruled out of the trip to Argentina, with Raffi Quirke called into the squad, but Youngs, who played a record 127 games for England at scrum-half, has tipped the Harlequin to play there again in South America.

Of course, Smith had the luxury of playing against a 14-man Fijian outfit following the red card to Simione Kuruvoli in Liverpool, and switched position when England already had a handsome 47-8 lead, but the former Leicester Tigers star showed his appreciation for the cameo when assessing it on his For the Love of Rugby podcast.

Jack van Poortvliet will likely keep hold of England’s starting No.9 jersey this weekend, as he has in the past two Tests, and while both Ben Spencer and Quirke will be vying to make the bench, Smith has now thrown his hat in the ring and offers some much-sought-after versatility, being able to cover full-back as well as his more-familiar role at fly-half.

Fixture

Nations Championship

Argentina

12:10

18 Jul 26

England

All Stats and Data

“If he never plays nine again for the rest of his career, although I’d back him to play this weekend, he could go down for that 20 to 30 minute cameo at nine as England’s greatest ever scrum-half. He was that good at nine,” Youngs said.

“Marcus was the man at nine – front foot ball, the pack getting him on the front foot, scooting out, nice and square at the line. The way he played nine, I was just like ‘Marcus is the man.’ The skillset, the multi-skillset.”

Smith himself is not averse to the idea of playing at scrum-half, and even confessed after the match that he has played there more than at full-back.

“I played at scrum-half growing up at school growing up in Singapore and the Philippines,” Smith said.

“If it was agreed with the coaches, of course I’d be happy as cover. I’ve probably played more at scrum-half than full-back.

“It’s the same thing ultimately – make good decisions and execute your skills. Playing for England is my ultimate aim.”