Marcus Smith - 'I was running like Forrest Gump'

Marcus Smith - 'I was running like Forrest Gump'
Comments from England full-back Marcus Smith and head coach Steve Borthwick following their 71-0 win against Chile at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Saturday, 23 September.
 

Marcus Smith, full-back



On Chile:

"We always knew the first 20 minutes were going to be tough. Chile are an extremely passionate team, they have shown their mettle to get to this tournament. In their first two games they have also put up a really good fight.



"To score that many points in the end and put them to bed was credit to the work in the week and credit to the coaches' work. I think we took a step forward."

On if he prefers fly-half or full-back:

"I enjoy them both. To be on the field is special for me, I always like doing it with a smile on my face and I think I had that today and I've had that the last few weeks in training. Any opportunity I get I will always try and take it with both hands."

On his first try:


"That was nice, sometimes at 10 you don't have those opportunities in those wider channels. I really enjoyed that, I think I got it off Faz [Owen Farrell] on the inside and I saw space and I thought I'd give it a go, run like Forrest Gump and luckily the ball popped up for me. It was a special try."

On being in England camp with Owen Farrell and George Ford when he was younger:


"Those two have been really influential ever since I was in a camp when I was very young. I was very lucky England used to train at Brighton College, as I went to Brighton College. I had to beg my teachers when I heard the opportunity was available. To be able to train with those guys, to learn from the best two fly-halves in England was good for me and they have been really helpful to me.


"I rushed my maths exam so I could get on the field. I had my rugby socks on and I was ready to go. I think I got a B."

Steve Borthwick, head coach

On if the team scoring tries will instil belief:

"The important thing was the players seeing their hard work on the training field on the pitch. There are things to work on. Credit to Chile, that first 20 minutes they played really tough, they forced errors [from us], they forced turnovers. They defended their line and it took us a while to break them down and the other thing to consider is the cohesion factor.

"It's something we are building in a short period of time and I stress again against Samoa, we are back here in two weeks' time and we will be a better team."

On the bye week:

"There is no training for the next couple of days, I will be using it in preparation for the Samoa game. Training recommences on Thursday, to make sure our prep has everything we need for when we come back to Lille.



"The players don't go back to England, they stay in France."

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