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The 'kid can play anywhere' England verdict on new full-back Smith
By Liam Heagney
Kevin Sinfield can’t wait to see what unfolds on Saturday at the Rugby World Cup with Marcus Smith wearing the England No15 shirt for the first time. It was last month in the lead-up to the finals in France when Steve Borthwick’s management ticket first broached the idea of positioning the Harlequins out-half elsewhere in the team.
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At the time, Sinfield explained: “He embraced it straight away. It was a question that was posed to him. ‘Have you played 15?’ His first answer was, ‘No, but I would love to’.”
Having spruced up on the nuances of the full-back role with three weeks of training at base camp at Le Touquet-Paris-Plage and having had a fleeting few minutes in the position when introduced as a sub in the wins over Argentina and Japan, this week’s third Pool D fixture against minnows Chile will be the occasion for Smith to properly audition in the role.
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“Marcus has been training at full-back for some time now so we have had a real good look at him,” assured Sinfield ahead of a match that England are expected to comfortably win and show greater potency in their attack.
“He has come on in the last two games, one for a short period against Argentina and at full-back as well. We feel he is ready. He has got an unbelievable skill set, is a world-class player and we feel that having someone like that in our team, a second ball player, will be a great addition for us and give us some more variety.
“We have obviously got Freddie Steward there for us who has been great the first two games but as we move through the tournament we want to have some variety – and Marcus certainly brings that.”
Danny Care, Saturday’s starting No9, won the Gallagher Premiership with Harlequins in June 2021 in a nine-10 partnership with Smith. He too is excited about what his friend can do in his new position. “I’m sick of answering questions about Marcus,” he chuckled.
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“That kid can play anywhere, he can probably play nine as well but I don’t want to get myself out of a position. In training, he has been brilliant whether he has been at 10 or 15.
“As Kev said, as a second ball-playing option when Owen (Farrell) and George (Ford) or George and Marcus, when they link it looks pretty special so I’m looking forward to seeing him go.
“I can’t wait to see him light up the world stage which I have known he has been able to do for a few years now. I know he is really excited to get out there.”
Back to Sinfield, who had another Smith angle to add. “What I failed to mention in my previous answer was what a great running game he has got as well. Probably lends himself to being in a bit more space and a bit more time which he can often find himself in as a full-back.
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“But as Danny has touched upon, he is an unbelievable talent. He can play a number of positions across the back line and do it to an unbelievable level so we’ll look forward to watching the combinations tomorrow.
“It will certainly be interesting his link-up with Owen. We have seen that previously but in a 10/12 combo, so we are looking forward to seeing that and then possibly at some stage the addition of George, having all three of them on the field as well.
England have visited the stadium in Lille where they will play Chile on Saturday. #ENGvCHI #EnglandRugby #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/4dJ6nAX2Ln
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 22, 2023
“Marcus has been a world-class player for some time now. We understand the quality we have got in that 10 position and how do we get the best out of the three of them and get them on the field together, so we have been working through that at training very hard and we look forward to seeing it tomorrow.”
With Smith named at No15 and Ford held in reserve, Farrell has been reinstated as captain at No10 in what will be his first match since his August 12 red card versus Wales which resulted in a four-game ban. “Just a wonderful leader,” remarked Sinfield about the return of the squad’s skipper.
“Speaks volumes of him that he has had a massive influence on the group without being out on the field. He has worked incredibly hard on his game, has done a lot of fitness and done a lot of kicking and has been heavily involved in the team sessions.
“The vast majority of the time he has been running the opposition team for us. He has done a wonderful job of that and we are delighted he is back and available. I mentioned before the competition for places, we have got three incredible tens.
“We have got some guys across the squad who are competing hard internally which is really healthy competition for us. To have him back available is great.”
