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'They were stealing my money': Smith's tongue-in-cheek Wales story

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

New England talisman Marcus Smith has tongue-in-cheek quipped that Dan Biggar and his fellow Wales players “were stealing his money” when playing cards with him on the Lions tour in South Africa last year. Smith was a mid-tour call-up by Warren Gatland and ahead of the upcoming England Guinness Six Nations clash with the Welsh at Twickenham on February 27, the 23-year-old spoke about the excellent rapport he built on tour with Biggar, an out-half who is ten years older.   

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“He is a brilliant guy, Dan Biggar,” said Smith on Wednesday after England assembled in London for their fallow week training camp ahead of the eagerly awaited round three showdown with Wales. “I remember he invited me to my first game of cards in South Africa which was nice. He didn’t have to do that. All the Welsh boys invited me to that. 

“He was very accommodating, very welcoming, brought me up to speed very quickly with the playbook and the way they wanted to play out there. He always greeted me with a smile on his face and we worked really closely together on our kicking and I learned a lot about the game through watching with him and Finn (Russell) and Owen (Farrell) as well.”

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Asked what the outcome of that ice-breaking card game was, a smiling Smith quipped: “I lost, I think I lost a tenner. They were stealing my money.” 

Both England and Wales got their seasons back on track last weekend with respective round two victories in Rome and Cardiff following first weekend setbacks for each team in Edinburgh and Dublin. The game on Saturday week in London will be Smith’s first experience as a player facing the Welsh at Test level but he knows all about the rivalry between the two countries.  

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“I have been very grateful, I have been brought up in a rugby-mad family,” he explained. “My dad is an extremely proud Englishman and he always told me how big this game was. So yeah, for me if I get the opportunity to play in that game I know how much it will mean to not only my dad but every other proud English fan in the country. It is our next game so it is our most important game because it is hopefully going to put us in a better position on the Six Nations table.”

England are currently second, three points leaders France with three rounds of matches to play in a tournament that will conclude with Eddie Jones’ team taking on the French in Paris on the night of March 19. 

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“It has been a brilliant tournament, it is wide open at the minute,” reckoned Smith. “Obviously, France are unbeaten still and they have got a few tough games coming up. It is all to play for, it’s wide open and we are massively excited about the next few weeks. Hopefully, we can continue to win and put ourselves in the best position to win it.”

Just seven caps into his new career as a Test-playing out-half, Smith was very much on the outside looking in this time last year as he was still months away from the July debut he was to make for England at Twickenham against the USA. Can he remember what he was like during the 2021 Six Nations and how has his relationship with England boss Jones progressed in recent weeks with Smith now the No10 playing in his first championship campaign?

“I was watching it as an avid England fan, desperate to see them do well. I can’t really remember what I was thinking of, I was probably head stuck into playing well for Quins and trying to push Quins up the table and trying to add value in any way I could on and off the field. I can’t really remember any details but I was definitely a massive supporter of England back then.

“He [Jones] has been brilliant with me, he has pushed me, given me good feedback both from training down in Brighton to our first game in Scotland to the Italy week. Our dialogue has been very open even since the autumn and I am learning a lot from Eddie. He is pushing me to get me to where I want to get to in my career and where he wants to get this team.”

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Can Smith offer an insight into those coach/player chats? “No, it’s between me and him but the main gist of it is, ‘Just keep working hard and keep enjoying my rugby’.” 

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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