SMITH HAS THAT ALL BLACK MAGIC
England ‘quarterback’ Marcus told he could be a star for New Zealand as he prepares to take on world champions
MARCUS SMITH takes the England reins at Twickenham today with Nick Evans declaring him good enough to star for the All Blacks.
South Africa are the opposition, the world champions odds-on favourites, and Smith, 22, does not have Owen Farrell beside him as a comfort blanket.
It is a pinch-yourself moment for a young man who only four years ago was offered a full-time place in Harlequins’ academy and invited to a training session with the first team to introduce himself.
But nobody who witnessed that day is remotely surprised to see him now taking centre stage at Twickenham in front of an 82,000 crowd this afternoon.
“The idea was to expose the Under-18s to what Quins are about and how we train,” recalled club legend and former New Zealand fly-half Evans (below). “It was a daunting prospect for a youngster, stepping into a professional environment alongside senior internationals.
“Yet this kid, playing 10, came in and was bossing people around, really confident, even though he didn’t know any of the calls. The guys were astounded. Immediately we knew he had something different.”
Even Joe Marler was lost for words. Well, almost.
“I looked at him in awe of how assured he was,” said Quins’ England prop. “And not in a way that I’ve seen other youngsters come through and thought ‘wind your neck in, mate.’
“He wasn’t like that. He was confident in directing forwards and those around him and doing it with a massive smile on his face. I thought to myself: ‘This kid’s gonna be good.’”
Watching from the sidelines, Quins coach Mark Mapletoft likened Smith (left) to a young Alex Goode. “You could see he was a games player,” said the former England flyhalf. “By which I mean he had footwork, evasion, an ease with which he handled and distributed. He moved into space and understood exactly what he was doing.
“And if anyone did doubt his ambition, they had only to look in our analysis room. He was regularly first in and last out.”
Within weeks Smith would find himself thrown in at the deep end after star signing Demetri Catrakilis suffered a serious throat injury in only his second game.
Evans took him to one side and worked through nuances of the game “that you don’t see on Instagram”.
He taught him that, as the team’s quarterback, you have to communicate the game-plan clearly. Swear or get too excited and detail gets lost in emotion.
Smith, who was born in the Philippines to a British father and Flipina mother, took it all on board, led Harlequins to the title last season, and heads to Twickenham today with Evans insisting: “Marcus wouldn’t look out of place in a black jersey, I honestly believe that.
“I know Eddie Jones spoke about the need to keep his feet on the ground but I know him, his background, and the people around him.
“He might still look a teenager but he’s a 30-year-old in the way he sees and thinks about the game.”
Marler smiled: “Nick’s right, Marcus really does have a great head on his shoulders. Lovely, full head of hair as well, which upsets me sometimes. And he’s not happy to just be like ‘yeah, I am good.’ He’s prepared to work hard. I love watching him play. It’s great fun.”
Nick Evans was speaking on behalf of Amazon Prime Video for its coverage of the Autumn Nations Series.