Inside the transformation that made Marcus Smith darling of Twickenham

After a difficult Six Nations and summer campaign, the fly-half has become a crucial player for England in the Autumn Internationals

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Four weeks ago, Jack Wilshere was invited to Surrey Sports Park in Guildford to speak to the Harlequins squad. The theme of his message was about taking your opportunity.
Wilshere was the most talented English footballer of his generation, becoming the youngest player to appear for Arsenal at the age of 16. Esteemed judges such as Pep Guardiola and Xavi thought he was the future of English football. But the future never came. A succession of injuries did not help but Wilshere also made mistakes along the way and he retired at just 30.
Sport, he told the Harlequins players, can be fickle and pass you by in the blink of an eye. When the opportunity comes your way, you have to seize it because you might never get that opportunity again.
Listening with particular attention that day was Marcus Smith. Coming into the Autumn Nations Series, Smith had made 35 appearances for England, yet there was still the sense that he was the coming man.
A post shared by Marcus Smith (@marcussmith10)
Of those appearances, nine were as a replacement and three at full-back. Even when he did start in his favoured No 10 shirt, he often did so in the shadow of Owen Farrell. He was pencilled in to be the starter during this year’s Six Nations only to suffer a calf injury in a training camp in Girona which meant George Ford started instead. When Smith did return for the summer tour to Japan and New Zealand, it was in Ford’s absence. The sense that he was just keeping the No 10 shirt warm for Ford was not helped by missing eight points from the tee in the 16-15 first Test defeat by New Zealand.
If the English jury was once out on Smith, it has now deliberated and in the 62nd minute of England’s defeat by Australia delivered a unanimous verdict. When Ford appeared on the sideline, boos rang out in the Allianz Stadium. The crowd’s disapproval was not at Ford’s introduction but at the possibility of Smith’s removal.
In the event, a mutiny was averted as Smith was shifted to full-back where he continued to sparkle. At times, it felt England’s attack had been reduced to an under-12s game where you just give the ball to your best player and expect him to do something. Which is exactly what Smith did. He had a hand in all five of England’s tries against Australia and in spite of the result was clearly the toast of Twickenham.
Watching from afar, Harlequins coach Nick Evans observed a palpable difference in Smith’s performances this autumn. “He looks a lot more comfortable playing the way that he wants to play,” Evans said. “Just to be him in an England jersey rather than trying to be someone else or thinking he has to play differently.”
Evans can directly relate to Smith’s experience. The majority of his international career was spent as a back-up to All Blacks great Dan Carter. In the shadow of such tall oaks such as Carter and Farrell, it can be hard for saplings to grow. When Farrell decided to move to France, there was suddenly the light that Smith needed to flourish.
“Faz was an absolute stalwart for England rugby and as someone who played over 100 Tests [he] deserves all the accolades that he got,” Evans said. “He deserves a big part in Marcus’s development at international level. Then when he chose to move away, the opportunity is there for Marcus to take that mantle. And that’s what he has done.”
This is reflected in statistics compiled by Opta Sports that show Smith topping the charts among tier-one fly-halves for try assists, try involvements and 50-22s kicked in 2024. He is also second for tries and defenders beaten despite only appearing off the bench for the final two matches of the Six Nations.
A lot of that has to do with his team-mates’ increased understanding of his idiosyncrasies. It was no coincidence, for example, that Ollie Sleightholme, a former England Under-20s team-mate, scored two tries against Australia having read Smith’s cues as those at Harlequins do every week. “At Quins, he has got 50 guys who know what he is going to do and can react to what he does,” Evans said. “At times, you probably see Marcus identify things that other people do not and they are a yard behind. What he has done that has impressed me is that he has executed what Test rugby demands of him.”
Evans again can provide an important perspective from his playing days on the confidence that comes with being the undisputed first-choice fly-half. “Confidence allows you to have real clarity around what you are doing and from a 10’s point of view, how you can help and lead the team,” Evans said. “If you are second guessing yourself, second guessing whether you are playing, second guessing your performances, suddenly that makes you very insular. You are looking at yourself the whole time. When you have that confidence and you know your role then you can pour that energy into helping the team and directing things on and off the field. That’s where Marcus is on and off the field. He will come back into Quins and be his natural self.”
That undisputed first-choice status will not last long. In England, as in New Zealand, a fly-half is only one match away from facing a referendum on their future. Ford fits Steve Borthwick’s ideal vision of a fly-half more neatly than Smith’s unpredictable improvisation. Northampton’s Fin Smith will also be a rival for years to come.
But for the moment, Smith’s destiny is in his own hands, which is precisely how he likes it.
“We had Jack Wilshere come in and one of the main things he spoke about to our players was that when your opportunity comes, make sure you are ready to grab it,” Evans said. “I think that really resonated with Marcus. The opportunity has arisen now, with Owen leaving and Ford having an injury, for him to put his name on the back of the jersey and really cement it. That’s what he has done, he has played out of his skin.”
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