Opinion: Give Marcus Smith the England fly-half keys and let him unleash his potential
England back Marcus Smith after Rugby World Cup game.
Planet Rugby writer James While believes England should give Marcus Smith the Zach Crawley treatment and hand him the fly-half jersey on a long-term basis in 2024.
Crawley Ashes
Anyone remember the Ashes 2023?
Leading up to the series, there was a lot of chatter about the England opening partnership, with many saying that it was a problem within the batting order and that, specifically, Zach Crawley had failed to impress or build upon his potential.
Rob Key and Brendon McCullum were a lot clearer in their view than many of the public or the pundits, stating that Crawley’s unfulfilled performance ceiling was a hell of a lot higher than anyone else who might be selected. Behind closed doors they told young Crawley that he would open in every one of the five Tests, come what may. In short, they looked at their risk/reward equation and backed potential and the result was outstanding as Crawley topped the run charts, smashing a world class attack to all points for England as he finally turned the corner as a Test cricketer.
It’s been said by Crawley himself that the key to unlocking his vast potential was him feeling valued, knowing he was a key part of his team’s strategy and having absolutely clarity on selection.
New cycle
As Steve Borthwick and England move into a new four-year Rugby World Cup cycle they are in the enviable position of having a blank canvas to deliver their vision for the national team. This first year in the planning cycle is a key one, and a time when it’s traditional to see more experiments than at any other time within the Test arena.
The biggest question mark England have is who plays at 10 given Owen Farrell’s self imposed absence from the game. They’re not short of options; Fin Smith, George Ford, Marcus Smith are just three obvious ones, with others bubbling under the radar. It would be simple to revert to English type and pick the most reliable one – Ford – and then nurture one or two of the Smiths. But is that really the best option and do England have to perhaps look at how they want to play the game if they’re to beat the real big guns of Test rugby – South Africa, New Zealand, France and Ireland – moving forward?
When Smith was shoehorned into the number 15 shirt during the Rugby World Cup it was done so on the basis of simply getting his running threat into the game no matter what – and Borthwick needs to be commended for taking that step. The curious by-product of Smith’s full-back vacation with England is it’s taken the Quin to new heights as a 10, as he has learned to play in a different position at Test level which has opened his perspective on how he sees the game and the angles he runs.
Next level
For Quins this season, when his pack get front foot ball, Smith has gone up yet another level again. His ability to step into any position in the backline to suit opportunities and plays is noticeable and many believe this is a result of his new perspective gained playing temporarily at 15. Against Gloucester in the Big Game, his interplay and positional switching with Tyrone Green and Nick David was noteworthy – allowing his wings to stand in at first receiver whilst Smith himself ghosted in at second or third receiver in the line to create pace and width at the narrowest point of Gloucester’s defence.
🃏 That's classic Marcus Smith sending Nick David over. #HARvGLO pic.twitter.com/ty9Uk3SV1M
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) December 30, 2023
It was Smith (with a little help from the peerless Danny Care) who initiated these plays and who called the structures, all of them designed to engineer the fly-half into a place where he could cause the most damage. He found himself with one on twos against tight forwards on six separate occasions in the match. Was this luck? No, it was Quins allowing him to get himself into positions where he could create try scoring opportunities with ease, with all of his teammates on the same page in terms of what they were trying to achieve.
Freedom to perform
Like Crawley, Smith is undoubtedly a generational talent and one that has a performance ceiling so far ahead of his rivals that it is worth allowing the Quins star a long and unfettered run directing England from the number 10 jersey. But in order to do so, he needs the personnel alongside him to understand his vision and to allow him the freedom to do his thing. This means fast ruck ball, a scrum-half that can feed Smith’s thinking and play. It means having back three players and centres (such as George Furbank or Henry Slade) that can add value in other positions during the game to free up Smith’s roving nature as an attacker. It demands England pick a pack to move the ball and recycle possession at pace and move away from the traditional drudgery of one-out runners off nine in order to threaten attacks with try-scoring potential.
Using techniques such as ‘vertical shape’ attacking – where you set up narrow with two at 10 and three behind to engineer ‘flow side’ attacking opportunities based upon speed, speed and more speed will change completely how sides look to defend against England and will make Borthwick’s team more able to score tries against the biggest boys of the Test arena. And let’s be frank – with centres of the attacking quality of Slade, Tommy Freeman, Max Ojomoh, Will Joseph, Oscar Beard and Ollie Lawrence, England have both the gas and grunt to elevate their attacking to new heights.
The delicious irony is that the Premiership is delivering this type of rugby week in and week out via teams such as Bath, Quins, and Saints, so taking a more positive mindset from club to country is merely replicating the form and functions used at domestic league level.
Marcus Smith would be playing ten for every other nation apart from South Africa. Build the England team around him. It'll be fun. No more losing conservatively. #HARvGLO
— Ashley Ball (@AshleyJarnoBall) December 30, 2023
Grasp the nettle
All of this is doable, but if Borthwick wants Smith to orchestrate this he needs an extended and unfettered run at 10. Our message is to grasp the nettle and do exactly to Smith that England Cricket did with Crawley. Tell him he’s in for the duration of 2024, that he’ll play if fit and that he has a year to make that shirt his own.
Sure, we have to consider the brilliance of Ford and Fin Smith, but one has had his time and the other can be engineering into Test rugby slowly but surely. But the simple fact is neither of them have the performance ceiling of the Harlequin and until he’s given complete freedom to run England’s attack both he and we will never fulfil the enormous potential this incredible young player has.
