Don’t believe everything you read on the internet….
Venturing on to social media after a high-profile game is generally a fruitless endeavour, and it proved so once again after the Lions’ 28-24 defeat to Argentina last Friday.
It’s not just the casual fan, but everyone who lets their biases get the better of them at times, and this was the case in regards to one Lions players in particular, Marcus Smith.
He draws criticism, and often hatred, from all corners, with his flashy and maverick style, hyped up from a young age by the English media, putting the backs up of many.
Whether he has been overrated at times is neither here not there; the fact remains that he is class player.
And as we saw once more, fans will rather be incorrect than offer a balanced and accurate view of his performances.
Much of the criticism directed at Smith after the game centred around his fullback play, after starting in what is the out-half’s secondary position.
However, he had positive involvements in the backfield and his ‘errors’ were overblown.
Anyone taking issue with his success under the high ball was incorrect.
Smith faced just one contestable kick, and it ended in a scrum for the Lions, after the referee changed his initial call.
Los Pumas did get a lot of change out of their up-and-unders and box kicks, but these were mostly directed at Duhan van der Merwe, Tommy Freeman, and Fin Smith.
Where Smith shone was in attack, especially as a second playmaker, with his passing and vision, honed as an out-half, helping to unlock the Argentinian defence and give time on the ball for men on the outside.
His trademark stepping and quick feet meant that the defence could not drift off him either.
In the first example below, two whipped passes from midfield opens up space, firstly for Duhan van der Merwe, who should have offloaded to Mitchell for a very possible try, and then for Jac Morgan, who should have stepped inside to keep the attack going.
The second example shows Bundee Aki’s strong finish for his side’s opening try, created by a series of excellent passes from Smith and others.
The third and fourth clips are just further examples of the Harlequins man’s quick feet, offloading game, and strength.
A fair bit of warranted criticism was directed at the Lions for the Argentinian tries, with each of them avoidable.
But when line breaks are made, and the cover defence doesn’t come across quick enough, it is rare that a fullback can offer more than to postpone the inevitable.
In the case of the first try, Freeman is caught is no man’s land, leading to the break and a two-on-one against Smith.
The fullback forces his man to pass, but Freeman is slow to turn and is poor with his help defence, before Van der Merwe over commits, allowing Ignacio Mendy to touch down all too easily.
The second try is unlucky and one which is hard to practice for and react to.
Once Van der Merwe spills the ball on the ground, while in prime attacking position in the opposition 22, there is little the Lions can do.
Perhaps a more reactive and cohesive side could have stopped the score, but the Argies were so impressive in their speed to flood the attacking channels whenever the game loosened up, something that they were coached and set up brilliantly to do.
For the third try, Smith is covering the opposite side of the pitch, and arguably could have reacted quicker to the danger on the other side.
But 99% of the damage was done via an awful missed tackle from Henry Pollock, an inch-perfect kick courtesy of Matias Moroni, and the outstanding pace of Santiago Cordero.
Of course, it was not a perfect game from Smith, who began the contest with an overcooked up-and-under, which was too far to even slow down the catcher.
A loose pass under no pressure in the second half could have been costly, were it not for a superb pick up from Freeman.
His most noteworthy mistake led to three points for the opposition, but during it he also showed good defensive instincts.
Argentina’s kick in behind the defence initially looked a poor option, and this was down to the speed of turn and awareness of Smith, who was on to the ball remarkably quickly.
As such, he gives himself ample time to hand the ball over to the powerful Van der Merwe, who is also running away from his own line and in a better position to secure their possession.
Smith backs himself with the dummy but ends up being on the end of a textbook hit from right-wing Rodrigo Isgro, who throws him over his own goal line, winning a five-metre scrum.
Ultimately, none of Smith’s errors were overly egregious, and his positive involvements far outweighed the negatives.
Along with Freeman, he was his side’s most potent attacking weapon, and with his ability to play both 10 and 15, he looks primed to wear the No 22 jersey for the tests.
Towards the end of the match, he showed what was his best passage of play, combining well with another who also wrongly maligned by many, scrum-half Alex Mitchell.
Smith shows his pace to get back to cover a kick, giving himself time to weigh up his options and make the correct decision to pass.
And in staying out of the next ruck, it allows him to set up again and act as playmaker.
He calls for the ball from Mitchell and attacks the line at pace, before sending Sione Tuipulotu free down the right-hand touchline for a 30+ metre break.
