Harlequins star Marcus Smith put in a stellar debut performance for England during Sunday’s Test match against the USA at Twickenham.
The 22-year-old played a key role in most of England’s six tries against the Eagles including a try of his own and an assist for Joe Cokanasiga.
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The mercurial fly half’s restart inside the first 10 minutes lead to a try for Sam Underhill in the corner while his handing skills were also central to Ollie Lawrence’s first international try.
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Fans had been calling for Smith to be included in Eddie Jones’ England squad for some time and he didn’t disappoint in his first Test.
“I am really pleased, 12 new caps, it was a great day for rugby spectators at the ground,” Jones told Channel 4 afterwards.
“As a team there are things we can improve but for so many players making their debut for England we have got to be pleased with how they went.
2 – Harry Randall (1 try, 1 assist) and Marcus Smith (1 try, 1 assist) both scored and assisted a try today, the first time a starting halfback pair had managed that for @EnglandRugby at Twickenham since March 2015 v France (Ben Youngs 2T 1A, George Ford 1T 3A). Lively.
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) July 4, 2021
“We got a little bit loose. It was one of those games that tend to open up. As we got loose they got stronger, and full credit to USA. They kept in the game, kept coming and we got a little bit loose. We had a number of young players on at the end that will benefit from that experience.
“Dan Robson did a great job for a half-back on the wing. Losing Ollie and Max [Malins] early in the game took away a bit of our firepower, that was unsettling but you have to be good enough to cope with that. It affected us more than it should have.
“Test match rugby is about consistency, doing the small things right, that is where we dropped off in the second half. They are a great group and they will only keep improving.”
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