Rugby: Rugby-I quickly learned that schoolboy Smith was a star, says Marler

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) – Gnarled old prop Joe Marler did not initially take too kindly to being ordered around by Harlequins’ newly-arrived skinny teenage flyhalf but he very quickly realised that Marcus Smith not only talked the talk but walked the walk – and started to listen.

Smith, 24, is due to play the biggest game of his young life when he starts at fullback for England against Fiji in the World Cup quarter-final on Sunday and Marler said on Friday that, right from the start, he looked destined for the big time.

“Initially I thought ‘I’m going to have to say something to this guy. I’ve been here 10 years and he’s gobbing off, telling us ‘you’ve got to get here, get over there’, driving my standards’ then you realise what he’s talking about,” Marler told journalists.

“He had that confidence as a 17- or 18-year-old, that desire to be the best and win, and he quickly earned the respect of the rest of the group. For me it took a while – this jumped-up, entitled little private school kid – then you realise how good he is and why he’s doing what he’s doing and it’s ‘I’m going to listen to him more’.

“He’s always had that temperament. He’s done it consistently at club level and now he has to do it internationally and what better place than starting in a World Cup quarter-final. I’m fully confident in his ability to thrive on that stage, albeit in the 15 shirt, with the attacking talent he has.”

Marler said Smith had a similar mindset to captain Owen Farrell, whose England flyhalf position he briefly claimed under previous coach Eddie Jones.

“He is obsessed with wanting to be the best every single day and it’s infectious,” Marler said. “In a similar way to Owen, their drives raise the standards of the group – or you get left behind.

“They have different attributes but they both have underlying passion and desire to be the best and drive the team to be the best.”

While Smith, who was called up as an apprentice player at 18 by former coach Jones, is just starting out on his international career, Marler, 33, is coming to the end, with this World Cup an unexpected bonus extension.

He retired from internationals in 2018 but reversed his decision and came off the bench in the semis and final at the 2019 World Cup. He is named as a replacement again for Sunday’s match and is desperate to embrace what he says will be his last England campaign.

“When you’re not here, for whatever reason, you miss it and you crave to get back involved,” he said. “Previously I’ve taken it for granted and now, knowing this is the last opportunity to play in a World Cup quarter-final and pull on that shirt, it is an honour and a privilege and I’m loving every moment of it really.

“There are a group of us who know this is our last chance. We’ve been together for a number of years and built friendships and bonds and that togetherness can help drive you. We want to make this memory special but it’s always been the case really as you never know which is going to be the last game.”

(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Christian Radnedge)