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According to rugby specialists, Fin Smith has shown why he deserves the starting position for the national team's fly-half versus the All Blacks on Saturday.

The Northampton Saints star produced without doubt the best defensive performance observed by an English fly-half in several years.

His courageous approach through regularly completing defensive hits versus an aggressive Fijian team was impressive.

His tactical control proved exceptional - he showed an excellent balance of finesse and composure, while executing some strong decisions during moments didn't proceed as expected in the first half.

Defensive Excellence Coupled with Tactical Command

His ability to settle the team tactically while making important decisions represents an aspect he has truly nailed.

From my perspective, Fin Smith is England's primary playmaker and deserves to start versus New Zealand next week.

I think head coach the England coach views it similarly too, because Fin has demonstrated his capability in big international games.

Team Selection and Competition

George Ford began the previous weekend against Australia due to captaincy considerations, with some aspect of that choice aimed at ensuring consistency while acknowledging his form from the tour of Argentina.

But England's performance versus the Pacific Islanders was a significant step up from the performance against Australia.

The Wallabies lost on Italian soil last weekend, therefore we must avoid becoming too carried away with that win, which should have been by a larger margin considering how below par the Australians performed.

The Fijian team, by contrast, proved significantly threatening and presented a far tougher test.

Future Prospects

The young playmaker is still only twenty-three - looking ahead two years, with Ford challenging him while providing backup, I believe Smith will find himself in a very strong position as a player.

The Harlequins star also has to be considered as a possibility when appropriate and versus the right opposition.

He is developing as a player and is starting to establish himself, though he needs the freedom to show his distinctive qualities.

Bench Impact

The All Blacks introduced their impact player, who registered the decisive score to beat the Scottish team, and that shows the significance of possessing players capable of creating genuine influence as substitutes.

That kind of presence might represent the deciding factor between winning a World Cup from failure.

The All Blacks substitute watches the game unfold from the bench while considering regarding ways to create a difference when he comes on.

His decision-making and mistake frequency have enhanced substantially from his initial professional days.

Role Discussion

Should we develop Smith as such type influential performer, then having him among substitutes could be valuable.

Nonetheless, at the moment I don't think Marcus is the answer at full-back, so that is a role that is still up for grabs.

New Zealand are likely to punt to challenge England's defensive line, so it has remain impenetrable.

This role requiring to become a real strength, in defense and in terms of the counter-attack threat.

Currently, I don't think Smith is a full-back in top-tier rugby.

I struggle to identify the advantage of playing him there.

I prefer possession in his hands frequently, but I believe that should be among starters, particularly in the final 20 minutes.

Natural Instincts

Clearly there exist a lot of similarities between Ford with Smith.

Fin has the ability executing right choices under pressure - his natural reactions are not something that can be taught.

I recall as he received the ball at one stage within his own half appearing like it could be should they swung it wide.

However during these milliseconds he thought they needed to turn Fiji round as we are leading points-wise, so he kicked it to pin the opponents and turn the screw.

This represents the type of fly-half play that wins titles while claiming global tournaments.

Complete Package

He also has composure during intensity directing the players around him, while recognizing that he mustn't always need as primary option.

I hope to witness him receiving the chance to show that at the highest level next week, just as we have seen George Ford accomplish, particularly during club level repeatedly consistently.

During the South American tour, the experienced fly-half similarly excelled during challenging situations, where historically you could argue there have been times where he didn't fully done so in the very highest-pressure games.

I think we have two fly-halves who can do the role, though Smith's defensive work on top of everything else, establishes him as the better-rounded all-round performer.

Tactical Setup

This also indicates you don't have to adjust your defensive system while fielding an assertive player in the fly-half position, instead of someone who is a little more reserved.

One might make a strong case for Ford starting with Smith entering from the bench.

There are so many factors occurring behind closed doors, however the management choose to proceed, this will present the opponents difficulties.

This hasn't consistently represented the situation facing New Zealand, when attention was simply on picking the right player.

On this occasion, whichever fly-half selected will pressure New Zealand significantly.

Smith's capacity selecting the right kick and execute enabling possible 50-20 might relieve pressure off England.