Rugby Farrell ready to help ‘very talented’ Smith get even better
OWEN Farrell is ready to assist in the development of Marcus Smith as the rising Harlequins star looks ahead to his first autumn as England’s primary playmaker.
Smith is expected to retain the fly-half jersey he wore for two Tests in July when Tonga, Australia and South Africa visit Twickenham next month, with Farrell poised to play at inside centre.
In planning for the 2023 World Cup, Eddie Jones has sent George Ford into international exile and brought in a player who has been electrifying the Gallagher Premiership.
Smith’s brilliance last season resulted in England and Lions callups and the challenge now facing the 22-year-old is to prove he can direct operations against heavyweight Test opposition.
“Marcus is a massive talent and a very exciting player. He’s someone who can unlock a game himself but he’s also got a brilliant eye for how to make a team work as well,” aid Farrell. “You want to make sure he keeps that sort of balance and he’s got the attitude to do that - hopefully for a long time.
“Marcus is someone who loves talking rugby. He loves chatting about the game and trying to understand the game a bit better. If I can help him do that in any way possible, I’d love to.
“We have worked together before and he has been in camps before when he was a bit younger.
“I shared a room with him in the past and it was good to get to know him a bit better over the summer with the Lions.
“He’s a brilliant lad and he’s not just a very talented player, but a proper student of the game.
“That sounds a bit cliche, but he is really bothered about getting better and understanding the game a bit more. He loves chatting about rugby, so that made it easy for me to get on with him!”
Smith will be looking to stamp his authority on England as quickly as possible and Farrell insists he has the self-assurance to make his voice heard. “Marcus seems like he’s confident and that’s because, for me, he’s done the work. He understands the game and knows exactly what he wants to get out of it,” said Farrell. “He speaks sense and that helps your confidence and helps when it comes to playing in the position he does. He is doing that really well at the minute.”
Farrell remains England captain after avoiding the cull of senior players which has cast doubt on the Test futures of Ford and the Vunipola brothers. Jamie George was another of Jones’ old guard to be overlooked for the Autumn Nations Series until Luke Cowan-Dickie sustained an ankle injury, resulting in the Saracens hooker’s recall.