Marcus Smith says England can’t afford to let another big opportunity slip when they face the Springboks at Ellis Park next Saturday.
England endured their worst-ever Six Nations campaign earlier this year, suffering a first-ever loss to Italy before regaining some pride with a narrow defeat to France in Paris.
Smith, who can play both flyhalf and fullback, made four appearances off the bench in the tournament.
“The biggest things that we’ve spoken about as a group [since then] 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,” said Smith ahead of the Nations Championship, which sees England face the Boks, Fiji and Argentina in July.
“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.”
WIN double tickets to Boks vs England!
Having long been regarded as England’s “next big thing”, Smith is now their third-choice flyhalf, with his ability to also play fullback keeping him in the match 23.
The flamboyant playmaker admits past failures have taught him the importance of BMT.
“There’s a reason why we all practise so hard, to showcase it in the biggest of moments, and the frustration that I sometimes have, whenever I do go within myself, for whatever reason, is why the hell did I not do it?” Smith said.
“You only really get that picture once, and you train so hard for that picture to come up, and you kick yourself in bed.
“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.”
MORE: ‘Pollock must give Bok fans the big one’
Smith pointed to England’s 16-15 defeat to the All Blacks in Dunedin in 2024, where he missed crucial kicks at goal, and another missed attacking opportunity against Ireland in the 2025 Six Nations as defining lessons.
“I wish I kicked my goals. I’d kicked well all week, for whatever reason that day didn’t happen,” he said.
“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.”
FROM THE MAG: Poms set for Bok bruising at Ellis Park
But the 27-year-old says he’s learned from those disappointments.
“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.”
Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
The post Smith: England must ‘play big’ against Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.