In the biggest moments, the great players step up. It is, of course, far too early to call 22-year-old Fin Smith a great but the traits the fly half demonstrated on his first international start – as England finally ended their year of woe in close matches by dramatically defeating France 26-25 in a stone-cold thriller – signify the brightest of futures.
The debate over who should be given the England No 10 jersey has been raging for a while now. Would the veteran savvy and exceptional game management of George Ford serve this largely young England team best? Or do they need the individual brilliance and game-breaking ability of Marcus Smith.
In 80 minutes of rugby, Fin Smith ended that debate. After a scintillating, player-of-the-match performance, barring injury or other unforeseen circumstances, the shirt will be his for the present and the future.
Facing the challenge of a France team who not only demolished Wales 43-0 eight days prior, to kickstart a presumed Six Nations grand slam bid, but also handed England a record 53-10 loss the last time they came to Allianz Stadium two years ago, Smith rose to the occasion magnificently.
The composure he showed in the face of the French fire was exceptional – especially being able to bounce back after seeing his very first kick of the match charged down – and the cohesion he brought to a talented, but inconsistent, backline peppered with fellow Northampton Saints proved a huge boon.
Charged with calling plays and dictating how England would play the game, he got more inventive and bolder as the 80 minutes wore on, culminating in calling the strike play that sent Elliot Daly scything over for the winning try at the death.
“Steve [coach Steve Borthwick] told the group to be ambitious,” explained captain Maro Itoje after the game. “He told the group to be brave and go out to try to score tries.
“Our backs, especially, were incredibly brave and ambitious. They took the ball on when we ordinarily would have taken the conservative option.”
That’s a testament to Smith and his lack of fear. His namesake Marcus – who had a torrid day after being moved to full back – is renowned for his flamboyance and creativity, yet it was younger Smith who was ultimately able to begin to unlock the full potential of this England backline.
The 22-year-old was the creator-in-chief for two of their second-half tries. He put up the kick-off that Tommy Freeman so brilliantly outjumped Emmanuel Meafou to win and then, a couple of phases later, produced the even more exquisite kick that Freeman leapt to snatch away from Louis Bielle-Biarrey and dive over the line.
Then, once France had seemingly broken the hearts of the men in white at the death, it was Smith who called the winning strike play, visibly saying “I’ll go Daly” ahead of time and then producing a pinpoint, perfectly-timed pass to send the veteran crashing over.
He also converted England’s final two tries after taking over kicking duties following Marcus Smith’s shanking of a penalty and conversion. It is understood the decision to switch kickers was made by the players themselves rather than coming from the sidelines.
Sadly, those misses typified a scratchy display from Smith Sr, which also saw him ill-advisedly run into contact on halfway rather than kicking ahead, immediately get stripped of the ball by Bielle-Biarrey and only avoid France scoring in the aftermath because they inexplicably dropped the ball with the line at their mercy as part of a catalogue of handling errors.
He was moved from No 10 after a series of performances over the past year where England were not getting enough from their attack with him at the helm. But he was selected at full back ahead of Freddie Steward due to his more dynamic ability on kick returns and France preferring long, rather than contestable, kicks where Steward’s aerial ability would be more useful.
Smith may well retain the No 15 shirt for the round three match with Scotland for similar reasons but his place in the team is no longer secure, given the transition that has happened at fly half.
Having Alex Mitchell at scrum half, with Freeman and Ollie Sleightholme on the wings – all teammates of Fin Smith at Northampton – certainly didn’t hurt the young playmaker, as the understanding between them forged by the club connection beautifully translated to the international stage.
“I thought he played very well,” said the typically understated Borthwick when pressed about Smith’s display. “He had great composure and you could see the cohesion factor between him and Alex Mitchell.”
Smith was far from the only reason England claimed a long-awaited win, with a number impressive performances throughout the team, not least from an overhauled bench as Ben Curry made a constant nuisance of himself, Jamie George and Ollie Chessum completely shored up a creaking lineout and Daly and Fin Baxter scored tries.
“Ireland’s bench last week were terrific, they were tactically exceptional,” said Borthwick. “Today, we had real impact off the bench.
“That experience that came on… Jamie George came on and added, Elliot Daly came on and added. Between them I think they rose our caps by 170, increased our average age as a team by almost two years. They brought all that age and experience on to the grass.”
The experience helped England finally get over the line in a close game, and it was certainly a long time coming, but it was the new blood at fly half that really sparked the change.
There will now be new questions for Borthwick and his team answer. Can this promising display be backed up, especially against a Scotland side who have had England’s number for the past half decade? Is a tilt at the Six Nations title a viable proposition this year? And what do you do with Marcus Smith?
However, at least one problem has finally been solved – Fin Smith has announced himself as the present and the future at No 10 and England fans finally have hope again.
