England star Marcus Smith claims Six Nations are wide open
By BEN REDWOOD
England star Marcus Smith claims the Six Nations are “wide open” ahead of Wales’ visit to Twickenham in ten days time.
The England star said: “We’re excited about the next few weeks. Hopefully we can continue to win and put ourselves in the best position to win it.”
Smith outlined in Wednesday afternoons press conference that he’s not focused on stamping his authority on the England fly-half jersey.
Instead, his focus is on “working extremely hard in all my preparation to make sure I play again in the white shirt.”
Return of Manu Tuilagi
Eddie Jones‘ side have been boosted by the return of Manu Tuilagi to the England squad following a hamstring injury sustained scoring a try in November’s victory over South Africa.
If fit to play, Tuilagi brings real power to England’s midfield – an asset that has been lacking in the opening rounds.
On Tuilagi, he said: “He’s a brilliant player. It’s brilliant to have him back in camp. He’s a ball of energy – all the boys love him!
“All of our centres are very different in the way they play. But, his (Tuilagi’s) skillset is undervalued.”
Smith recollected on the time he saw Tuilagi score his first England try on debut vs Wales in a 2011 World Cup warm up match.
He said: “I watched his first try at Twickenham with the dummy switch with Jonny Wilkinson”.
Has Smith put his stamp on England’s 10 shirt?
When asked if he put his stamp on the England fly-half jersey, he promptly answered: “I wouldn’t say fully.”
“I’m very grateful that I have a good group of backs and forwards around me. All the guys have brilliant skillsets and want to play the game in a similar way.”
“Every time I pull on the white jersey is special. I’ll never take it for granted. I’m working extremely hard in all my preparation to make sure I play again in the white shirt.”
Quick not to look too far into the distance, Smith said his focus was on getting through this afternoon’s training session, rather than Wales’ visit to Twickenham in ten days time.
After a few days rest at home with families, the players have reconvened in London to prepare for the visit of Wales.
Wales’ visit to Twickenham
Current Six Nations holders Wales visit Twickenham next Saturday (26th February) in a pivotal match for both sides title aspirations.
On the Wales clash, he said: “It’s our next game – its our most important game. Hopefully its going to put us in a better position in the Six Nations table.”
Growing up in a rugby mad household, Marcus is all too aware of the importance of an England v Wales Six Nations contest. Such is his families love for the game, that his father is regularly seen donning an extravagant Harlequins waist coat at Quins’ matches.
Looking ahead to the Wales fixture, Smith said: “My dad is an extremely proud Englishman and he always told me how big this game was. For me, if I get the opportunity to play in this game, I know how much it’ll mean to not only my dad – but every other proud English fan in the country.”
Smith’s inclusion in the Lions tour to South Africa last summer allowed him to learn from the likes of Dan Biggar and Finn Russell.
Despite being the opposing number ten next week, Smith spoke of Biggar’s welcoming nature last summer.
“He invited me to my first game of cards out in South Africa which was nice – he didn’t have to do that,” he said.
“We worked really closely with our kicking and I learnt a lot about the game from watching him.”
Italy
Smith followed his impressive performance against Scotland with yet another impressive display in Sunday’s victory in Rome against a “proud Italian side”.
He said: “Obviously it’s a nice way to finish the first block of the two games.
“We were extremely disappointed off the back of the Scotland game. But we quickly shifted our attention to Italy. To get five points down there against a proud Italian side was good – we were very happy with it.”
Smith praised Eddie Jones for his seamless transition from Premiership rugby to the big stage of international rugby.
“He’s pushed me and given me good feedback both from training, to our first game in Scotland and the Italy week,” he said.
“Our dialogue has been very open since the autumn. I’m learning a lot from Eddie and he’s pushing me to get me where I want to get to in my career and where he wants to get this England team.”
