Marcus Smith gives update on leg after 'special' day in Twickenham
Marcus Smith spoke of a new era for England after producing a devastating cameo that helped launch the Autumn Nations Series with a 69-3 victory over Tonga.
Smith has declared himself fit for Australia’s visit to Twickenham on Saturday after defying the leg injury that confined him to a bench role against the Islanders to amass a 15-point haul composed of a try and five conversions.
On the pitch for just 29 minutes, his arrival inspired a second wind at a point when his team led 36-3 but the flow of tries had been stemmed by determined yet limited opposition.
England intend building their challenge for the 2023 World Cup around the electric 22-year-old and as he intelligently orchestrated play, running in one touch down and directly setting up another, he outlined an exciting vision for the future.
Far tougher tests are to come against Australia and South Africa over the next two weekends, but the 11-try demolition was a genuine step forwards for a team that has been freshened up since finishing fifth in the Six Nations.
“It was the start of the new journey for us. As a squad, there are a lot of new faces and a lot of older faces,” Smith said.
“To play against Tonga at home in front of a sell out crowd was special. To have a sell-out crowd supporting us on this new journey was amazing.
“We stressed after the game that this is only the start of the journey. It was nice to score 69 points at home against a very good Tonga team.
“However, we have loads to work on. It’s a massively exciting squad and we’re desperate to improve this week. All of us are desperate to keep getting better individually as well.
“That will hopefully make us collectively better. I’m massively excited to be a part of it. It’s a special feeling we’ve got but it’s another big week and another big game ahead.
“Massive credit to Tonga, they came with a lot of passion and a lot of determination. The boys who started the first-half were amazing. They set the platform for the game. They smashed it in the first-half.
“The finishers at half-time were told to bring an energy and bring an impact and that was our job. All of us tried to do that when we came on and I really enjoyed my run on to the field.”
Smith excelled despite being limited to one training session all week because of the unspecified leg injury that meant when Owen Farrell was ruled out by a positive Covid test, it was George Furbank who started at fly-half.
Furbank performed with distinction, showing his own flourishes in attack, but the roar that greeted Smith when he arrived on to the pitch reflected who the crowd had really come to see.
“My leg felt really good coming on to the field. The medical team with England guided me throughout the week and gave me the go-ahead to train on Friday and then play,” Smith said.
“I went out there with no holds barred and gave it my best. It felt really good out there and the leg feels good now.”
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Even with absences we still had the cattle to make the playoffs. As it was, we nearly stumbled our way into the top 8. Which shows just how easy it was to get there. And still we failed. As for Razor, there are many instances of him patching up the Crusaders roster. Numerous. Several players I'd never heard of. Also, using AB legend John Afoa was a classic.
But, some of the games we were losing were from schoolboy errors, or downright confusion. Either the players were really dumb (they weren’t) or they were poorly coached. Given the repetitive nature of errors, brain fades, poor decision making, & loose structures, this all lands with the coaching group.
With only six playoff spots now in SR, & Aussie franchises now consolidated to four, 2025 looks like a tight one. I'm picking we'll have to tough it out under Penney & hope for the best.
Go to commentsAgree we need a 10, 12, 13 refresh. ASAP. Well, next season now lol. Reiko should be put back on the wing. He'll be an absolute menace there. Imagine 11 Reiko 14 Clarke 15 Jordan as the backfield unit.
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