- Tom Brady won seven Super Bowl titles during his glittering career in the NFL
- Will Greenwood said Marcus Smith should emulate the NFL star’s style of play
- Steve Borthwick’s side will take on New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday
Will Greenwood has urged England fly-half Marcus Smith to take a leaf out of seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady‘s book, following England’s narrow 16-15 defeat by New Zealand last Saturday.
The 2003 World Cup winner also lumped praise on the Harlequins fly-half for his performance during the match, claiming the 25-year-old is starting to look much more at home in the No 10 jersey at international level.
Smith will lead the attack at fly-half during England’s second Test against New Zealand at Eden Park this weekend. But his performance during last Saturday’s match was thrust into the spotlight, with the Quins playmaker missing three of his five attempts at goal.
Despite that, the former England centre highlighted the unique abilities that Smith possesses with the ball in hand and how he is improving by playing much closer to the gainline.
Speaking on behalf of NOW, Greenwood said: ‘He [Smith] is much more comfortable in his shirt now, with the No 10 jersey – sort of – being his at the moment.
‘I know he’s under pressure from Fin Smith but he is nose to grill now. He’s double pump and he’s delaying passes and putting people into holes.
‘When he first started, he was a little deeper, playing a bit more like he does at Quins, which you can do at club level.
‘Now, he’s not quite as flat as Finn Russell, he’s not quite as flat as Damian McKenzie, but he’s getting flatter. George Ford is still, of the English fly-halves, the one that gets the flattest in attack.
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‘But Marcus is getting there and he brings so much other stuff that other fly-halves don’t.’
Smith would showcase this during last weekend’s Test, stepping up to the line before fizzing an outstanding flat pass out to Immanuel Feyi-Waboso on the left wing, who strode in for England’s second try of the match.
While the fly-half possesses a unique ability to produce moments of magic with the ball in hand, Greenwood offered a suggestion over how he can continue to improve to make England’s attack even more threatening.
‘You’ve got to give him [Smith] time to be more comfortable, like [Tom] Brady, to stay behind his nose tackle for as long as possible before he drops deep into the shotgun that gives him more space,’ Greenwood added.
‘Stay close to the nose tackle, work in traffic, [use] those short yardage passes.
‘His [Brady’s] ability to stay in amongst the bodies for longer has defined him as the greatest quarterback of all-time and that’s what Marcus’ next challenge is.’
Fin Baxter is the only change for Steve Borthwick’s side ahead of the second test, with the 22-year-old prop coming into the front row for Joe Marler after his Quins team-mate suffered a foot injury during the first test.
The All Blacks have also been forced into making one change after TJ Perenara sustained an injury during the game in Dunedin, with Finlay Christie set to partner McKenzie at scrum-half.
Borthwick is approaching his second year in charge as England boss, and while Greenwood thinks there is still work to do, they are playing an impressive brand of rugby, compared to some of their performances in the past.
‘I want to get up and watch this bunch,’ He said. ‘Super exciting. They’re not going to get everything right. [But] they back each other. Great squad. Great environment. And a really good set of leaders.’
He added: ‘England are not the finished article, but jeez, I like watching them.
‘And I like watching them play, I like their energy and I’m just really positive about what they’re doing.
‘I’m not someone who’s always been a cheerleader. That needs to be put into context.
‘And often they could do this better,’ he said speaking in reference to past performances.
‘Now, at the moment, I’m going look thematically across the pillars that you have to get right.
‘They’re getting most of them right more than they are getting wrong and that’s a great trajectory to be on.’
Ahead of the second Test match against New Zealand, Greenwood has partnered up with the streaming service NOW and spoke of the wide-ranging access the platform offers to sports fans.
‘You can stream the second Test match with a NOW Sports Day or Month membership,’ Greenwood said.
‘It offers instant access to all of Sky’s own rival sports rights, including this summer’s internationals. The beauty here is it’s a flexible way to stream all 12 Sky Sports channels on any device, without committing to a contract. It’s hassle-free, value for money, international Test match rugby.’
Stream the second New Zealand vs England summer rugby international live on Sky Sports with a NOW Sports Day or Month Membership.