{"id":293749,"date":"2023-09-24T13:34:14","date_gmt":"2023-09-24T13:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=293749"},"modified":"2023-09-24T13:34:14","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T13:34:14","slug":"marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcus Smith a \u2018viable option\u2019 for England at full-back \u2013 Richard Wigglesworth"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing<\/h3>\n

Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news<\/h3>\n

Thanks for signing up to the
Sport email<\/h2>\n

Marcus Smith could be retained at full-back as England progress deeper into the World Cup after excelling in his first start in the position against Chile.<\/p>\n

Smith overcame an edgy opening to help orchestrate an 11-try rout at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, offering the team a new dimension with the ball in hand, which he underscored with a personal two-try haul \u2013 albeit against opponents ranked 22 in the world.<\/p>\n

England must now decide whether to give him another chance to adapt to 15 in their final group match against Samoa on October 7 or revert to the ultra-dependable Freddie Steward, their first choice in the position for over two years.<\/p>\n

Richard Wigglesworth has been a central figure in Smith\u2019s transition from fly-half and the attack coach has seen enough to know the 24-year-old is ready for the bigger tests that lie ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarcus has given us food for thought at full-back throughout pre-season because that\u2019s the standard he operates at,\u201d Wigglesworth said.<\/p>\n

Recommended<\/h3>\n


\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a bigger talking point than we felt it was because we just see a great rugby player there. We were really impressed by him against Chile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all thought it was coming before the game and were really confident that he was going to produce that sort of performance. He looked great, didn\u2019t he?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s definitely a viable option (to start) because he\u2019s a top, top international, so when you have that level of ability like he\u2019s got, executing the way he is, then he\u2019s always a viable option.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether Smith faces Samoa, reprises the bench role that worked well over the four Tests before Chile were overwhelmed or England perform a positional sleight of hand by squeezing him and Steward into the same back line, one of the game\u2019s most exciting talents has a role to play at the World Cup.<\/p>\n

When you have that level of ability like he’s got, executing the way he is, then he’s always a viable option<\/p>\n

With Owen Farrell and George Ford blocking the path at 10, the Harlequins magician has adjusted quickly after defence coach Kevin Sinfield first raised the prospect of him switching positions during the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarcus is a fly-half who can play full-back and what\u2019s so impressive about him is that he has just ripped into that role,\u201d Wigglesworth said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gets training time at both, but he\u2019s ripped into this like, \u2018I want to get a shot, I want to have an impact at a World Cup\u2019. And what an attitude for someone to have.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a hint of, \u2018Oh, this isn\u2019t quite my preferred position or the one that I\u2019ve played and played very successfully for my whole career\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not done that, he has just gone, \u2018Let me make an impact on this team, on the players around me\u2019. And he has been first class.\u201d<\/p>\n

England, who are on the brink of reaching the quarter-finals, have resolved to let Smith forge his own identity in the role.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0let Marcus do it the Marcus\u00a0way because, from the first moment he has done\u00a0it, he has looked\u00a0pretty comfortable there,\u201d Wigglesworth said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done extra high-ball work and understanding the back-field roles in that, and he\u2019s really grabbed that.<\/p>\n

Recommended<\/h3>\n


\n
\n<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a smart, smart rugby player, so he retains that information and then commands other people around him straight away.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s grabbed it himself and we want Marcus Smith to look like Marcus Smith at full-back, no one else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up …<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMarcus Smith a \u2018viable option\u2019 for England at full-back \u2013 Richard Wigglesworth - Sportstons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marcus Smith a \u2018viable option\u2019 for England at full-back \u2013 Richard Wigglesworth - Sportstons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sportstons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-24T13:34:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dennis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Marcus-Smith-a-\u2018viable-option-for-England-at-full-back-\u2013-Richard-Wigglesworth.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dennis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/\",\"name\":\"Marcus Smith a \u2018viable option\u2019 for England at full-back \u2013 Richard Wigglesworth - Sportstons\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-24T13:34:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-24T13:34:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rugby Union\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/category\/rugby-union\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Marcus Smith a \u2018viable option\u2019 for England at full-back \u2013 Richard Wigglesworth\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sportstons\",\"description\":\"sportstons.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"Dennis\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dennis\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Marcus Smith a \u2018viable option\u2019 for England at full-back \u2013 Richard Wigglesworth - Sportstons","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Marcus Smith a \u2018viable option\u2019 for England at full-back \u2013 Richard Wigglesworth - Sportstons","og_description":"Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up …","og_url":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/","og_site_name":"Sportstons","article_published_time":"2023-09-24T13:34:14+00:00","author":"Dennis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Marcus-Smith-a-\u2018viable-option-for-England-at-full-back-\u2013-Richard-Wigglesworth.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dennis","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/","url":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/","name":"Marcus Smith a \u2018viable option\u2019 for England at full-back \u2013 Richard Wigglesworth - Sportstons","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-09-24T13:34:14+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-24T13:34:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/marcus-smith-a-viable-option-for-england-at-full-back-richard-wigglesworth\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rugby Union","item":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/category\/rugby-union\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Marcus Smith a \u2018viable option\u2019 for England at full-back \u2013 Richard Wigglesworth"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/","name":"Sportstons","description":"sportstons.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Dennis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dennis"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293749"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}