Marcus Smith has issued a rallying cry for England to seize the moment in their upcoming clash with the Springboks at Ellis Park. After a dismal Six Nations run, which included a historic loss to Italy and a close shave against France in Paris, the spotlight is intensifying. Smith, versatile in roles both as flyhalf and fullback, who came off the bench in four tournament games, is vocal about the need for a mental shift.
“The biggest things that we’ve spoken about as a group is around playing big in big-pressure games... the games at the start were a bit cagey, a bit tight, and the difference that a week made playing down in France,” explained Smith, gearing up for the Nations Championship with matches against the Boks, Fiji, and Argentina on the horizon. “For us, we’ve agreed it’s in the mind, it’s in the top two inches. We need to free ourselves up, we need to play big from minute one.”
"You only really get that picture once, and you train so hard for that picture to come up, and you kick yourself in bed."
Long touted as England’s “next big thing”, Smith is now their third-choice flyhalf. His dual capability as a fullback keeps him in the crucial match 23. Speaking from experience, the flamboyant playmaker highlighted the harsh lessons of past failures. He painfully recalls missed opportunities, particularly during the 16-15 defeat to the All Blacks in Dunedin in 2024 and a mishandled advantage against Ireland in the 2025 Six Nations.
“I wish I kicked my goals. I’d kicked well all week, for whatever reason that day didn’t happen,” he lamented. “Ireland away, in the Six Nations, we were winning... I kicked the ball when I had a five-v-three [overlap]. That was an opportunity that wound me up for a while.”
Despite the setbacks, Smith remains optimistic about his growth and future contributions to the team. “Every year I’ve tried to better myself on and off the field. It hasn’t been linear. I believe that everything happens for a reason and is setting me up for what’s to come. Hopefully, I’ve got another 10 or so years to play rugby. I’m positive about the learnings I’ve made. Hopefully, it can be better than the first 10.”
"Sadly, you’re never going to get those again, and that’s something that I think we as a group don’t want to have moving forward."
As England braces for what could be a bruising encounter at Ellis Park, the lessons of the past loom large, but so does the opportunity for redemption and perhaps, a chance to play big when it matters the most.