England: Justin Marshall urges Steve Borthwick to continue with crucial selection decision
All Blacks legend and England fly-half Fin Smith.
Former All Blacks scrum-half Justin Marshall is backing England head coach Steve Borthwick’s decision to start Fin Smith at fly-half after he shone in their recent victory over France.
After suffering a 27-22 defeat against Ireland in their Championship opener, the Red Rose got their campaign back on track when they clinched a memorable 26-25 triumph over Les Bleus at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday.
Borthwick made some brave alterations to his run-on side for England’s highly anticipated encounter with France and one of the biggest talking points was his decision to shift Marcus Smith from fly-half to fullback, where he replaced Freddie Steward.
Fin Smith deserves another chance to start at 10
That meant his namesake Fin Smith came into the starting line-up to wear the number 10 jersey and Marshall believes deserves the Northampton Saints playmaker deserves another chance as England‘s first choice fly-half.
“It is one game, but I thought he (Fin Smith) was really solid,” he told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin.
“You know, like the enigma that Marcus Smith is, he can be a little erratic, you know, like at one stage he took the ball into contact and he got it ripped out and France probably should have scored.
“They counter-attacked for 50 metres and it was just the final pass, so I think it was (Peato) Mauvaka, the hooker, (it) just went slightly over his head, but ultimately they should have punished Marcus Smith for that error.
“And then equally he had the goal-kicking responsibilities and missed two easy kicks that would have put them ahead, or kept them in touch as well. So, you know, I think when you’ve got someone like Finn Smith at 10 and you’ve got Marcus Smith kind of slightly more uncomposed (at 15), the balance actually seems to be quite good.
‘I think he’ll stick with that combination’
“So I quite liked it. I don’t think it’s created a headache for him. I think he’ll stick with that combination and see how it plays out and see if Finn Smith grows into that jersey more.
“He hasn’t had enough time in there, but the only thing that can help him is to get those minutes in the jersey.”
Fin Smith is 22 years of age and Marcus Smith is 25 while Ireland’s fly-half Sam Prendergast, who is 21, also shone for his country in their Six Nations victory over Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.
With a British & Irish Lions tour to Australia set to take place in July, the famous touring team’s head coach Andy Farrell will be encouraged by the potential shown by his young fly-halves.
When asked if Farrell will have to name the aforementioned players in his squad if they continue with their impressive form, Marsshall said: “Yeah, he does. And, you know, obviously the diamond for him is Finn Russell, playing really good rugby. You know, obviously Scotland aren’t living up to my hype.
“And he got injured (against Ireland on Sunday), so that didn’t help with a pretty horrible head clash. But he does have that security of knowing that Finn Russell, you know, is international class, (a) world class 10, and then he just has to build around him and put pressure on him to perform.
“So, yeah, the more that the likes of Finn Smith, Prendergast, even Marcus Smith, you might look at him as a 10, keep the pressure on, the better they will be for their selections.”
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