It’s taken Marcus Smith five years to become an overnight success at international level, to negotiate a transition from swashbuckling teenager to the 23-year-old that Eddie Jones currently entrusts with the England number 10 jersey, having first been called into the squad as an 18-year-old ‘apprentice’ to borrow the Australian’s term.
The primary challenge during the maturation process was to establish whether Smith was capable of marrying style with the substance that would survive the rigorous demands of the Test arena, where he would need to be physically and mentally robust.
He had already demonstrated that capacity successfully at club level with Harlequins, playing a pivotal role in every sense in helping the London club to win the English Premiership last season.
No one doubted his aptitude, which was evident from the get-go when becoming the second youngest player ever in the Premiership - fellow England squad member George Ford holds the record - when making his senior Harlequins debut in October, 2017.
Two months later he played against Ulster in a Heineken Champions Cup match, zipping around the Kingspan stadium, imbued by the nonchalance of youth; his bespoke excellence to be found in several aspects of the game, a pinpoint cross-kick from inside his in-goal area to wing, Alofa Alofa, a slashing break for his try and shimmying footwork that gifted another to Charlie Walker.
Although just 18 at that point, his reputation preceded him, flagged within England’s age-grade system, a standout talent amongst his peers. There was a freedom to the way he played, an effervescent running threat that has always been a trademark and the distinctive hitch kick which offers a hint at a seminal rugby influence, one that boasts a Fijian twist.
Hot-steppers
Born in Manila, he moved from the Philippines with dad, Jeremy, mum, Suzanne and brothers Luc and Tomas to Singapore aged seven and there harnessed a love of sport playing rugby and football over a weekend; a bacon sandwich, cold drink and the opportunity to play barefoot the antidote to the formal structure of training.
Several trips to the Hong Kong Sevens shaped him as a rugby player, the wide-eyed delight, marvelling at the skills of two of Fiji’s finest hot-steppers, Waisale Serevi and William Ryder, energising the crowd and captivating an impressionable young rugby aspirant. Smith set about accumulating the tools to be able to play with a similar verve.
He found the perfect environment in Brighton College - the family had moved to England - and despite continuing to dabble in football with trials for Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton, he eventually committed wholeheartedly to rugby both at school and when joining Harlequins academy.
Smith plays with an unvarnished joy yet to be chipped away by the demands of professional rugby, his emotions unfiltered and etched on his face during matches. He explained why in an excellent recent interview with Rugby World’s Sarah Mockford. “For me, I love my rugby, I’ve always loved it.
“I don’t see it as a chore at all, watching clips, watching highlight videos, watching games and studying opposition and studying players. For me, it’s actually a hobby; I bloody love it.
“I don’t see it as a job to be honest. I love coming to work, I love getting out there in the cold, in the sun, in the rain, throwing a ball about and trying to get stuck in with the boys.
“The way I think about rugby is I still feel it’s like playing for Brighton College on a Saturday at school. I’m extremely lucky and grateful for that opportunity, and the day I find it a chore is the day I’m regressing in my career so I hope that never comes.
“I’m still only five years into my career, I’ve still got a long way to go in every part of my game and I’m constantly reflecting on my performances. I’m just at the start, I’ve enjoyed my last five years playing here at ‘Quins and I’ve enjoyed the last six months playing with England.”
He made his England debut last summer against the USA scoring a try in a tally of 13 points and the following week kicked 18 in a victory over Canada. As an aside and to endorse Smith’s running threat he’s crossed for four tries in his eight caps to date.
Lions head coach Warren Gatland summoned Smith to South Africa when Scotland’s Finn Russell suffered an injury and the young English pivot impressed in his sole appearance, a 49-3 victory over the Stormers in which he kicked all seven conversions.
Smith kicked the match winning penalty against the world champions, South Africa - he also started against Tonga and Australia - during the Autumn Nations series and maintained that positive impact into the current Six Nations campaign.
Maturity
Having scored a lovely try at Murrayfield and with his team leading, he was, as it would transpire, prematurely retired from the fray, the Scots producing a late scoring salvo to claim victory with Jones subjected to post match harrumphing from all and sundry for his decision to remove his influential playmaker.
Jones might reasonably argue that it had more to do with a moment of madness from Luke Cowan-Dickie than the change at outhalf in defining the result. Smith subsequently guided England to wins over Italy and Wales - he has scored 48 of England’s 73 points in the tournament to date - the maturity of his all-round game evident.
It would be a mistake to pigeonhole him as merely a running threat, a free spirit that wanders the pitch looking to peddle flicks and tricks. There is far more substance; he is a fine place-kicker, his re-start work has been precise, he doesn’t shirk the defensive side of the game and is very good at creating space for others.
However having appraised of his broader skill-set, Ireland will need to be especially vigilant when he is attacking the gain-line. He carries the ball in two hands, can step and accelerate sharply off either foot and for someone of his size he is remarkably adept at getting the ball away in the tackle. He has a keen instinct for mismatches too.
If he catches Irish defenders flat-footed, on their heels, or the collective line speed is passive or lateral Smith possesses the footwork to breach the line or facilitate a teammate in doing so. Irish players need to stay connected in the line. There are weaknesses as befits a player in the foothills of his Test career.
Cul-de-sacs
Looking back at an Under-20 Six Nations match from 2019, the Irish backrow of Martin Moloney, John Hodnett and Scott Penny in particular aggressively hunted him down and forced him back inside for a meet ‘n greet with the rest of the Irish pack; Smith was replaced after 47 minutes in that match. There is no question but that he’s improved significantly since then yet there are similar examples in this tournament of him running into cul-de-sacs.
He’s also got a habit of standing tall in the tackle and hunting the ball which has seen him bounced several times and there’s little doubt that Ireland will look to direct plenty of traffic down that channel. The presence of quicksilver Harry Randall at scrumhalf gives his halfback partner those extra milliseconds and the two have combined very well when presented with the platform of quick ball.
On the flip side the only time that Smith has appeared slightly muddled in his thinking is when England’s tactics are a little more prescribed and favour more of a kicking approach. Slow breakdown possession is anathema to all outhalves but particularly those whose calling card is to take the ball to the line.
As he touched on earlier, the 23-year-old outhalf is a keen student of the game and it is that thirst for knowledge and to improve that saw him seek out England’s greatest outhalf in the professional era and the man who guided them to the 2003, World Cup success, Johnny Wilkinson.
Smith explained: “Every time I meet him I leave our session with a new breath of life. He teaches me a lot, not just about rugby, not just about kicking but a way of living your life and a way of being when pressure comes on, when pressure’s not on, when things go your way, when things don’t go your way.
“If you can learn to control those sorts of things you eventually become bulletproof, which is where he was towards the latter stages of his career. When things go well it is never as good as it seems and when things go badly it is never as bad as it seems.
“It is something that you have got to experience the easy way or the hard way. Touch wood, luckily so far it hasn’t been any stress on me and I am happy and enjoying my life at the minute.” Andy Farrell’s Ireland team would love to change that outlook, just for 80-minutes, in south west London come Saturday evening.
Marcus Smith
Club: Harlequins
Position: Outhalf
Age: 23
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 82kg (12st 13lbs)
Caps: 8
Points: 111
