Steve Borthwick has backed Marcus Smith to rebound from a difficult day from the tee against France after revealing that the England full-back will retain kicking duties for the Six Nations clash against Scotland.
The Harlequins playmaker missed a penalty and a conversion in the second half of the round two fixture, and had the tee taken off him as fly half Fin Smith assumed duties.
The 22-year-old subsequently slotted two conversions to help England to a long-awaited victory as part of a composed first start at international level.
There has since been contradictory comments from England in explaining how that call was made, with Borthwick insisting in the immediate aftermath of the round two success that it had been a decision made by the players, but Fin Smith suggesting last week that Kevin Sinfield, England’s assistant coach, had brought on his tee after a decision made by the staff.
But Borthwick has backed Marcus Smith to step up again this season with the Harlequin boasting an outstanding record at club level this season, with a Premiership-best kicking percentage of 96.43 per cent.
“He's a world class goal kicker,” Borthwick explained having persisted with the Smith/Smith playmaking partnership that showed promising signs against France.
“Marcus is a game-changer. Marcus is a player with incredible ability. Sometimes, the opposition focusses very much on him. Sometimes, that creates space for others. Sometimes, there will be a window for him to find.
“With Fin Smith and Marcus Smith, we have two ball-players, two people who see space in the front-line and in the back-field, and that’s going to be very important this weekend.”
The pair form part of an unchanged backline with Borthwick again keen on continuity in a selection that shows just a single alteration.
England are excited about the attacking possibilities the pair can provide as they seek to continue the evolution of their offensive gameplan.
Fin Smith believes that he and his namesake can get the best out of one another.
“There was no conversation between me and Marcus,” the Northampton 10 explained of the kicking decision against France. “It’s been funny to see the reaction to him from the media and the fans. I think he’s kicked at 97 per cent in the Premiership this season, which is the best in the league by far, and much higher than myself and the other kickers in the league.
“It’s funny that you miss a couple of kicks and you’re the worst kicker in the world. He’s an unbelievable goal-kicker and I back him all day to kick the ball over from wherever.
“He’s one of my closest mates in camp. We get on really well away from rugby. We talk about rugby a bunch, and see the game very similarly. Even at the weekend, but also in training in the last few weeks there have been times where we’ve seen the same space and gone after it together. I love playing with him and I think the more we can do that together it’s only going to be a good thing for me. Hopefully he feels the same way as well.”
In other news, England will face Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina during their Autumn Nations Series campaign later this year.
