LONG READ ‘Golden boy of English rugby may be destined to be frustrated super-sub'

Is Marcus Smith an England No 15 or is he an England No 10? Look through the long lens and the answer could be neither. England’s most talented back may well be destined to be a frustrated super-sub.

He will run out at full-back against Scotland at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on Saturday which, in the short term, is good news for him. Another start, another chance to showcase his extravagant gifts.

Think on to when George Furbank is fit again though and that shirt will be taken.

Furbank has been Steve Borthwick’s first-choice full-back since ousting Freddie Steward during last season’s Six Nations. He started three of the four autumn internationals. Like Smith in the No 15 shirt, he is a second playmaker but unlike Smith he is also a specialist full-back.

So that leaves the Harlequin in a Smith-off with his namesake Fin for the No 10 jersey. And who wins that one, now?

There is water to flow under the bridge before that decision has to be made – Furbank may or may not be back from his broken arm during the Six Nations – but the nettle will have to be grasped in the end and by the time it is, there is a decent chance that Fin will have put down roots at No 10.

Man of the match in the victory against France last time out, a golden window of opportunity has opened for him.

England’s run of defeats against the Scots has to end some time and at home, against a side emasculated by the absences of captain Sione Tuipulotu and lock Scott Cummings, this looks as good a chance as they will be presented with. It feels like the moment for Scotland’s stranglehold on England to be released.

Against the French, Fin demonstrated he had the temperament for Test rugby and also an ability to get England’s backline moving.

Break that hoodoo and mop up Wales and Italy in their remaining games and England are suddenly on a roll.

The fixtures have fallen kindly for Fin but he has earned his slice of luck. Against the French, he demonstrated he had the temperament for Test rugby and also an ability to get England’s backline moving.

You can see why Borthwick has stuck with him at No 10 for this weekend.

If the France victory – however much it relied upon the visitors’ failures to take their chances – does prove to be a turning point for England, then the head coach is unlikely to forget who was the stand-off who guided them there.

As an individual threat Marcus – England’s primary and often only creative threat in the autumn – has an extra dimension. But rugby isn’t an individual game.

Fin doesn’t have the array of hitch-kicks, steps and show-plays that Marcus does, but sometimes as a playmaker less can mean more.

For all that it is realising that in the social media era it needs charismatic figures who can sell the sport in a crowded market place, the game itself remains the ultimate team endeavour. A cog can spin as smoothly as it likes but unless it is connected to the next one the machine doesn’t work.

Fin doesn’t have the array of hitch-kicks, steps and show-plays that Marcus does, but sometimes as a playmaker less can mean more.

He benefits from his natural kinship with Alex Mitchell, his half-back partner at Northampton. With wings Tommy Freeman and Ollie Sleightholme part of the same Saints set-up, the synergy plays well for him. When Furbank returns, it could be five out of seven from Northampton in the England backline.

For the time being there are two Smiths but is that the best of both worlds? It will be interesting to see how Marcus copes at No 15 against Scotland for what, if Finn Russell is fit, could be a challenging tactical examination.

The French decided that, apart from dropping balls left, right and centre, when they went to the boot they would stick to their usual policy of kicking long, which played into his hands. Scotland, with Russell directing operations, will have much more variety to their kicking game.

They have caused England problems over the past few years by attacking them wide with the ball in hand; they will not want to kick away all their possession. But with Duhan van der Merwe and Blair Kinghorn in the side, they won’t be afraid of kicking to contest. This could be where we find out whether Marcus really is a Test full-back.

Ask him and he would say no. He is, by preference, a No 10 and he makes no secret of that. He has started 181 of his 187 senior matches in the position.

Forty-one caps into his international career, England still haven’t solved the riddle of how to best accommodate the magician that is Marcus.

Borthwick is trying his best to find a way of shoe-horning him into the side – and fair play to the England coach for trying to think outside the box, which is not his default setting.

Maybe Marcus can revel in the extra space and tear up Scotland with a turbo-charged attacking performance from the back. However talented he may be though, it is asking an awful lot of him to operate consistently at international standard in a position he only dabbles in occasionally for his club.

Forty-one caps into his international career, England still haven’t solved the riddle of how to best accommodate the magician that is Marcus.

The debate has a way to go yet and form and injury will influence it one way or the other, but when next year’s Six Nations comes round it would be no surprise to see Marcus as an England replacement.

Bench cover at No 10 and No 15? It is not quite what Smith brand makers at Roc Nation would have in mind for the golden boy of English rugby.

For all his stardust, he is a team man first and foremost and will do whatever is asked of him for his country. But if he ends up serving as a last-quarter game-changer, that would be a waste for a player with his sumptuous skillset.

It could be worse. Think of poor Steward, who has been cast adrift after 64 minutes against Ireland and cannot make the match-day 23. But Smith must have thought, having served his time behind Owen Farrell and George Ford, that the keys to the castle were finally his.

It certainly looked that way six months ago but it is remarkable how quickly the tradewinds switch in sport.

His run in the No 10 shirt coincided with a year of slimline failures for England. One slimline success with the other Smith steering the ship and how the picture has changed.