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According to rugby specialists, the young playmaker has shown that he merits the first-choice spot for the national team's fly-half versus New Zealand this weekend.

The Northampton Saints star delivered without doubt the most impressive defensive performance we have seen from an England fly-half for quite some time.

How he fronted up through regularly completing his tackles against an aggressive Fiji side stood out remarkably.

His game management proved exceptional - he showed an excellent balance of skill and control, while executing some strong choices during moments were not going to plan during the opening period.

Defensive Excellence and Strategic Command

His ability to calm the team strategically and make important decisions is something he has really nailed.

In my opinion, Fin Smith is England's primary playmaker and deserves to start against the All Blacks next week.

I think the manager the England coach sees it that way too, because Fin has demonstrated he can perform in big international games.

Squad Decisions Amid Rivalry

The experienced fly-half started the previous weekend versus the Wallabies for leadership reasons, with some aspect of that choice aimed at ensuring continuity and reward his form during the visit to South America.

But England's performance versus the Pacific Islanders represented a marked step up compared to the display against Australia.

The Wallabies lost in Italy on Saturday, therefore we must avoid becoming overly excited with that win, that could have been by a larger margin considering how off the pace Australia were.

The Fijian team, by contrast, proved significantly threatening while offering a far tougher test.

Long-term Potential

Fin Smith is still only 23 - projecting forward 24 months, alongside Ford pushing him but also offering backup, I believe Smith will find himself in a very strong place as a player.

The Harlequins star must also be considered as a possibility at the right time and against suitable opponents.

He's progressing as a player while beginning to find his feet, though he requires liberty to show his unique qualities.

Bench Impact

The All Blacks brought on Damian McKenzie, who scored the decisive score defeating the Scottish team, and that shows the importance of possessing players who can make a real impact from the bench.

That kind of player might represent the deciding factor between winning a World Cup or not.

McKenzie observes the match develop from the bench and thinks about how he can make a difference upon entering.

His choices and error rate have enhanced significantly from his initial professional days.

Role Discussion

If we can get Marcus as that kind of impactful player, including him among substitutes could be valuable.

Nonetheless, currently I believe he represents the solution at full-back, so that is a position that is still unclaimed.

The All Blacks are likely to punt testing England's backfield, so it has remain impenetrable.

It is a position that needs transforming into a genuine asset, both defensively while regarding offensive transitions threat.

Right now, I don't think Smith functions as full-back in top-tier rugby.

I struggle to see the advantage fielding him in that position.

I want the ball in his hands as much as possible, but I believe that should be in the front line, especially during the last quarter.

Innate Qualities

Clearly there exist a lot of parallels comparing Ford and Fin Smith.

Smith possesses the capacity to make right decisions during tense moments - his instincts are not something that can be coach.

I recall as he received possession at one stage just inside his territory and it looked like it could be should they spread play.

However during these milliseconds he thought the team required reversing Fiji round since England were up on the scoreboard, so he kicked it to pin them back applying the screw.

That's the sort of fly-half play securing championships while claiming World Cups.

All-round Ability

He also has that calmness during intensity to organise the players around him, and the understanding that he mustn't constantly serve to be the first receiver.

I hope to witness him receiving the opportunity to show this at elite level next week, just as we have seen the veteran do, particularly during club level week in consistently.

In Argentina, the experienced fly-half also stood up in difficult situations, where historically you could argue occasions existed he has not quite delivered during extremely tense games.

I believe England possesses two fly-halves who can do the job, but with Fin's defensive work on top of additional qualities, it makes him the better-rounded all-round player.

Defensive System

This also indicates there's no need to modify the defensive structure when you have an assertive player in the fly-half position, instead of an individual being somewhat passive.

You could also make a strong case favoring Ford beginning with Smith entering from the bench.

Numerous factors occurring privately, but whichever way the management decide to go, it will give New Zealand difficulties.

This hasn't consistently represented the narrative facing New Zealand, where the focus was simply on selecting the optimal individual.

This time, either playmaker selected will pressure New Zealand under real pressure.

Smith's capacity selecting optimal kicks and execute for a potential 50-20 can take pressure off England.