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According to rugby specialists, the young playmaker has demonstrated that he merits the starting position as England's fly-half versus the All Blacks on Saturday.

Fin Smith produced arguably the most impressive defensive display observed from an England fly-half for quite some time.

How he fronted up by consistently making defensive hits versus an aggressive Fiji side stood out remarkably.

His tactical control proved exceptional - he showed an excellent balance of finesse and control, and made some strong choices during moments were not going as expected during the opening period.

Defensive Excellence Coupled with Tactical Leadership

His ability to settle the squad tactically and make important decisions is something he has truly nailed.

In my opinion, Fin Smith is England's primary playmaker and he should start against New Zealand next week.

I think the manager Steve Borthwick views it that way as well, since Smith has demonstrated he can perform during important Test matches.

Squad Decisions Amid Rivalry

The experienced fly-half began the previous weekend against Australia for leadership considerations, with some aspect of that choice was to provide consistency while acknowledging his performance from the tour to South America.

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

The Wallabies lost in Italy last weekend, so we should avoid becoming overly excited about that victory, which should have been by a larger margin considering how below par Australia were.

The Fijian team, on the other hand, were much more threatening and presented a much more difficult challenge.

Future Prospects

Fin Smith is still only twenty-three - projecting forward 24 months, with Ford pushing him but also offering backup, I think Smith will find himself in a very strong position as a player.

The Harlequins star must also be considered as a possibility when appropriate and versus suitable opponents.

He's progressing in his career and is starting to find his feet, though he needs the freedom to show his distinctive qualities.

Bench Impact

New Zealand introduced Damian McKenzie, who registered the decisive score to beat the Scottish team, and that shows the importance of possessing individuals capable of creating genuine influence from the bench.

Such type of presence might represent the difference between winning a World Cup from failure.

The All Blacks substitute watches the game develop from the bench while considering about how he can make an impact upon entering.

His choices and error rate have improved significantly from his initial career.

Positional Debate

Should we develop Smith as that kind of impactful player, including him among substitutes might prove beneficial.

Nonetheless, at the moment I believe Marcus represents the solution at full-back, making it a role remaining up for grabs.

New Zealand will kick to challenge England's backfield, so it has to be watertight.

It is a position that needs to become a real strength, in defense and in terms of the counter-attack danger.

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

I find it difficult to see the benefit of playing him in that position.

I want possession in his hands frequently, though I think this should occur among starters, particularly during the last 20 minutes.

Natural Instincts

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

Smith possesses the capacity to make right choices during tense moments - his natural reactions represent traits you can really coach.

I recall as he received the ball during one phase just inside his own half and it looked like it could be should they spread play.

But in those milliseconds he calculated the team required to turn Fiji round as we are up on the scoreboard, therefore he punted to pressure them back applying pressure.

That's the sort of fly-half play that wins titles while claiming global tournaments.

Complete Package

He also has composure under pressure to organise the players around him, and the understanding that he mustn't always need as primary option.

I want to see him given the chance to show that at the highest standards soon, similar to George Ford accomplish, particularly during club level week in and week out.

In Argentina, the experienced fly-half similarly excelled in difficult situations, previously you could argue there have been times he has not quite delivered during extremely tense games.

I believe England possesses playmaking options capable of performing the job, but with Fin's defensive work on top of additional qualities, establishes him as the more complete all-round player.

Tactical Setup

It also means there's no need to modify your defensive system when you have someone aggressive in the fly-half channel, rather than someone who is somewhat passive.

One might make a strong case favoring Ford beginning with Smith coming off the bench.

There are so many factors occurring behind closed doors, but whichever way the coaches decide to go, it will give New Zealand problems.

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

This time, whichever fly-half they choose will pressure New Zealand under real pressure.

Smith's capacity selecting optimal kicks and execute enabling possible territorial gains might relieve pressure off the national team.