It is not Steve Borthwick’s style to crow in post-match press conferences, even after a victory as rousing as England’s 26-25 defeat of France on Saturday evening. On the top table at Twickenham, he was asked whether the triumph felt more satisfying for some bold selections in the build-up; namely starting Fin Smith at fly-half and moving Marcus Smith to full-back.

Typically, he chose to divert any praise to his players. But he does deserve plaudits himself. Though there were some errors from England’s stand-in number 15, other moments vindicated the eye-catching switch and preparations that would have been tailored meticulously to France. This run-down does not examine Smith’s display from the kicking tee, which featured two hooks that spurned five points, and tells a more encouraging tale as a result.

Instincts harnessed

One major reason for Borthwick shifting Marcus Smith for this fixture specifically was the length of France’s kicking game. More than any other Test team, they have tended to prioritise distance rather than hoisting high balls for chasers to contest as sides like England do.

It took seconds for us to find out whether France would be coaxed into a change of direction – and to see another wrinkle of Borthwick’s game plan. From the restart, Antoine Dupont banged the ball long. Ben Earl had dropped back, as Ellis Genge did in Paris three years ago:

This gave Marcus Smith, who catches the ball here, an extra runner for the kick-return. Smith feeds Earl and then follows his pass to help resource the breakdown:

Kicking battles are always cat-and-mouse affairs. Earl was dropping early – before Dupont even began to crouch at times – and therefore lightening the front line of England’s defence and offering France scope to run from deep.

Moments later, Dupont hits a shallower kick with his left foot. Marcus Smith is alive to it. He comes forward to cover the ground and instigates another attack by feeding Tommy Freeman before circling his wing to receive an offload. The ball spills loose, but England’s intent is clear:

Indeed, Marcus Smith exuded ambition and verve from the back-field – as Borthwick had asked him to. Even here, as Louis Bielle-Biarrey spills an inside pass from Pierre-Louis Barassi and the ball breaks to Marcus Smith, the latter is alive to an opportunity to attack in transition. He swings a long pass to Alex Mitchell, opening up the pitch:

As they did against Ireland in Dublin, England needed to spend long periods without the ball. Marcus Smith slotted into a new defensive approach admirably, which was a mark of canny coaching from Joe El-Abd and others.

Sitting off and providing an outlet

Defending at full-back is just as much about how a player stays alive and covers the ground than it is about their work in contact, especially in a ‘softer’ approach such as the one that El-Abd is now implementing. Under the tutelage of Felix Jones, England’s full-backs would swing up quickly on the outside of their wings. George Furbank covered huge amounts of ground in the summer against Japan and New Zealand, reading the attack and shooting up. Now, England full-backs will sit off.

Watch how Marcus Smith continues to sit deeper here, trusting Henry Slade and Freeman to drift across the pitch as France move the ball. When Thomas Ramos eventually grubbers through, Smith can gather the ball before darting across his own 22 and clearing to touch:

Later, he joined this first-phase move outside Fin Smith. A rushed kick is block by Barassi, but that did not cow Smith:

Soon afterwards, he calls for the ball as Mitchell is shaping to box-kick down the flank towards a retreating Matthieu Jalibert. Smith jinks past Grégory Alldritt and strikes diagonally across the field:

Ramos reads it well, which could have put England in grave danger, but the chase is fantastic. Freeman, Slade, Ollie Lawrence and Fin Smith swarm up-field, with Tom Curry and Lawrence swooping over Paul Boudehent to win the jackal turnover:

Seeing space, pushing flat

On the back of France’s first try, Dupont cleared long again. And again, Marcus Smith was there to send up Earl:

This time, though, instead of joining the next ruck, Smith bounces away and offers himself to Mitchell at first-receiver. With Tom Willis on his inside shoulder, he can sell a dummy and scamper into space.

It is a prime example of tapping into Smith’s spontaneity and England eventually get a scrum after Bielle-Biarrey deflects an attempted pass to Freeman:

The connection between the two Smiths will become sharper. From the same put-in, Fin slips through a grubber that Marcus chases. England’s backs pile into the ruck…

…and Dupont’s clearance – prioritising length – does not go to touch. Earl, who has dropped deep again, is on hand to catch and feed Slade...

...with England eventually getting a five-metre scrum from which Lawrence scores.

Defying errors

There were inevitably hairy moments. Early in the second period, Smith was stripped by Bielle-Biarrey:

This angle shows how he could have been far more secure in the tackle:

England were hugely fortunate not to concede a try, and had to scramble here, as well, after Dupont rushes Smith in the back-field and a wobbly clearance travels directly to Damian Penaud with England players in an offside position.

Penaud does not capitalise, electing to kick himself rather than running:

But players are no good to anyone if they clam up upon making mistakes. Coaches covet individuals who keep demanding the ball, and Smith has that confidence. It was telling that Slade was the back replaced in the final stages. Borthwick wanted both Smiths on the field throughout.

Here, after England have won back a restart, Marcus steps up at first-receiver – Fin was further back, having kicked the restart –to feed Tom Curry on the edge of the France 22:

This next blemish, however, could be categorised as over-eagerness. Fin Smith manufactures an opening for England, taking a pull-back from Ben Curry and fixing Emmanuel Meafou to send Jamie George up the middle. Tom Curry is in support to bring England to within five metres:

From there, though, Marcus Smith zips flat and towards heavy traffic. In fact, he mistimes the run and Mitchell can only fire the ball at the back shoulder of his target – if it is even intended for Smith at all – and a gilt-edged chance is lost:

Still, Marcus Smith kept coming. He makes a half-break from this Dupont clearance that sparks England:

A few phases later, he loiters in behind Ollie Sleightholme as Fin Smith steps up at first-receiver. Fin chooses the short pass and Sleightholme makes ground, with both Smiths burrowing in to retain possession:

From this attack, via a Lawrence grubber that France failed to deal with, England would score their third try.

Solidity and a secondary playmaker

Tension was palpable in the final exchanges and this piece of coverage from Marcus Smith, as he positions himself to catch a Ramos clearance and calls for a mark, settled England:

Less than 60 seconds later, in the 74th minute of the game, France are finally able to hoist a high ball on to the head of Marcus Smith. The others were directed at other players such as England’s wings.

Ramos goes to the air with Dupont and Bielle-Biarrey in pursuit, but Smith holds firm and wriggles to the ground to give his team-mates a target:

The hosts would concede another try, meaning that they had to score a fourth to snatch the win. Among Marcus’ final contributions was to push up into a playmaking position after another of Fin’s restarts was recovered. The former takes a pull-back from Baxter and sweeps the ball to Fin Smith.

Had England moved the ball to Sleightholme directly, they might have scored immediately:

As it happened, they had to earn a breakdown penalty and deliver the winning blow from a slick strike play. Marcus Smith does not touch the ball, but his presence in the outside channel, with Sleightholme to his right, will almost certainly have caused Bielle-Biarrey to drift off and become disconnected from Barassi:

With the game on the line, Marcus Smith enhanced England as an attacking threat and – even subtly, away from the ball – helped them score. But Borthwick’s charges have lost matches from all sorts of winning positions lately, including the Australia clash last November when all they had to do was secure one restart.

Here, in the absence of Freddie Steward, they deploy Freeman in the middle of the pitch to field what is sure to be a short kick from France. The ball bobbles loose, and look who comes forward to control it:

Marcus Smith is the man, with Chessum clearing Oscar Jegou to secure possession.

Now to the pertinent question. Does Steve Borthwick stick or twist for Scotland?

Verdict

Despite scruffy moments and a couple of lucky escapes, there is reason to believe that Marcus Smith will learn from what was his second Test start as a full-back to go with a handful of cameos. He defended intelligently and an attacking combination with Fin Smith should grow stronger and more intuitive.

Marcus Smith’s work in the 32nd minute, when he linked with Ben Earl in the back-field and then pushed flat to slip through a disorganised defensive line from first-receiver, was a perfect example of how England can incorporate his distinctive talents to spark openings.

Scotland’s kicking game, led by Ben White and Finn Russell, is more varied than that of France. They do tend to go long, yet will also go to the air – and certainly would not have waited until the 74th minute to allow chasers to harry Marcus Smith. France did not once get someone jumping against the Harlequin.

Russell teases back-field defences around the pitch superbly, too, meaning that speed across the back-field is crucial. All things considered, and given Furbank will not have recovered in time, I would be tempted to retain Marcus Smith over Freddie Steward at full-back with Elliot Daly on the bench. Fin Smith would keep the kicking duties in that case.

Then again, Saturday illustrated the value of throwing a selection curve-ball that causes opponents to think differently. Perhaps Borthwick has a different one to hurl as he bids to break Scotland’s hold on the Calcutta Cup.