MARC MY WORDS
Evans sure Smith good enough for All Blacks
by ALEX SPINK
MARCUS SMITH takes the England reins at Twickenham today with Nick Evans declaring him good enough to star for the All Blacks.
World champions South Africa are the 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.
Except nobody who witnessed that day is remotely surprised to see him now taking centre stage in front of an 82,000 crowd.
Smith took it all on board, led Quins to the title last season and heads to Twickenham with Evans
(inset) insisting: “Marcus wouldn’t look out of place in an All Blacks 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 27 to 30-year-old in the way he sees and thinks about the game.”
Recalling his introduction, club legend and former New Zealand fly-half Evans said: “The idea was to expose the Under-18s to what Quins are about and how we train. It was a daunting prospect for a youngster, stepping into a professional environment 3.15pm, Amazon Prime 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.”
Within weeks Smith was 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 the detail gets lost in emotion.
Even Joe Marler was lost for words back in 2017. Well, almost.
He said: “Nick’s right, Marcus 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.