Marcus Smith has made an excellent start to his international career for England and the Harlequins fly-half could be set to become a huge star for Eddie Jones‘ team over the next 12 months.
Smith first featured for England in a game against the Barbicans in 2019. He picked up 26 points in that contest and was awarded the Man of the Match prize in the 51-43 victory at Twickenham.
A full Test debut came earlier this year for Smith in a fixture against the USA. Once again, the fly-half did not look out of place. He scored a try and contributed 13 points in that 42-29 success for Jones’ side.
Six days after that win over the USA, Smith showed how good he is kicking in England’s 70-14 victory over Canada. He successfully made all nine of his kicks at goal. During that game, it was announced that Smith had been called up to the British and Irish Lions squad as a replacement for the injured Finn Russell.
Although he did not face South Africa in the series, Smith was given minutes against the Stormers. He played the full warm-up match, converted all seven of the Lions‘ tries in that 49-3 win. That is unlikely to be his last appearance for the Lions.
Smith will be hoping to get more chances to impress for England in 2022 at the Six Nations. Owen Farrell is likely to remain as the starting Fly Half but the game against Italy may be the perfect chance for Jones to hand the 22-year-old his Six Nations debut.
It is set to be a big couple of years ahead for England. They are the 9/4 second favourites in the rugby union outright betting for the 2022 Six Nations Championship. It was a disappointing campaign in 2021 for England so they will be bidding to bounce back from that.
In 2023, the World Cup takes place in France. England go into that tournament as one of the strong contenders. The 2019 runners-up are behind only New Zealand and France in the outright market. By the time that competition comes around, Smith will have more experience in the game and could be pushing to be a regular starter.
Success With Harlequins
With over 100 appearances for Harlequins now in domestic rugby, Smith is very familiar with the Premiership. He made his debut for the club back in 2017 and has developed into a key player for the Quins.
Last season Smith and Harlequins won the Premiership final. They defeated Exeter Chiefs in a record-breaking final as the scoreline finished 40-38, the highest number of points put up in the season-defining contest.
Smith made four successful conversions in that Premiership win. He had an excellent season for his club which is why he was rewarded with a call-up to the England set-up.
The Quins and England fly-half has the potential to be one of the best in the world in his position. He is sure to give Jones a big dilemma in the immediate future. He may have to find a way of giving both Smith and Farrell their fair share of minutes in his team.
