World Cup winner credits Jonny Wilkinson after Marcus Smith’s England success

02/27/2022

One must learn from the best in order to beat the best, and Sir Clive Woodward believes Marcus Smith 's time spent training under Jonny Wilkinson is already paying dividends for the England heir.

The Harlequins maestro enjoyed another important international display as he kicked 18 of England's points in a 23-19 Six Nations win over Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

Smith—who turned 23 earlier this month—was named Player of the Match for his contributions, converting six of his seven penalty attempts in his maiden meeting with fierce rivals Wales.

Eddie Jones ' side needed that accuracy from the tee given they struggled to break Welsh lines with ball in hand, relying largely on their scrum and ruck work to secure momentum-swinging penalties.

It was symbolic of the match-winning displays Wilkinson was used to putting in for his country, and World Cup -winning coach Woodward lauded Smith's growing knack for thriving under pressure.

"Over the last two or three years he [Smith] has landed a succession of big-match winning kicks for his club Quins, and he did the same in November against South Africa and then again last night his reliability kept England ticking over," he wrote for the Mail On Sunday.

"I know he’s been working with Jonny Wilkinson, fine tuning his technique and going through the mental processes to ensure he delivers a great strike every time. And it shows."

Wilkinson—England's all-time top points scorer (1,179)—of course cemented his place as rugby's 'King of Cool' when he slotted the match-winning drop goal against Australia in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final.

Jones' running game was robbed of star centre Manu Tuilagi on the eve of the third-round clash, with the Sale Shark withdrawing due to a hamstring injury hours after he was named in the starting XV.

That only heightened the importance of Smith's pinpoint boot in what was the latest example of the up-and-comer being undaunted by the big occasion.

The last two penalties in particular threatened to wobble Smith's nerves, with Wales coming back to within five points of their hosts after trailing 17-0, and still the Quins talisman kept his composure to convert.

The fly-half missed more tackles than any other player on the pitch (four), but a new England high of 18 points in a single Test match represents the kind of impact Wilkinson would routinely rack up during his prime.

While England may not have won many new fans over with their pragmatic, set piece-driven tactics at Twickenham, the points-producer nonetheless deserved credit for honouring his side of the bargain.

"The first half saw some mixed thinking from England," Woodward continued. "Right form the off when they earned that penalty from the kick-off, I would have been tempted to put it in the corner but, fair enough, they started initially to build the score through penalties.

"The great thing about a penalty is that the opposition can’t defend it, they are taken out of the equation, which is never a bad thing. It’s just down to you, or rather, Smith."

There are few European fly-halves one might want stood over the ball with a potential match-winner at present, such is the confidence with which Smith goes about his business.

Not even a year into the player's England career and already he's looking settled in the white jersey, having already helped vanquish Australia and world champions South Africa in the autumn.

His Six Nations career got off to a stuttered start with a Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland, but Smith is yet to lose his nerve after taking tips from one of the coolest characters to ever play the sport.

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