Smith v Farrell

There was an interesting debate in The Sunday Times at the weekend between Stephen Jones and Stuart Barnes on Marcus Smith.

Jones is no fan and doubts whether Smith should ever be selected for England, whilst Barnes is.

It’s no longer such an live issue as, with Farrell reportedly in negotiations with Racing 92, there is now an England starting fly half vacancy and Smith and George Ford – badly treated in the last World Cup – are the two obvious candidates to fill it.

The debate did raise the question of “winning at all costs” versus box office pizzazz.

Having seen numerous plodding performances by England in rugby – and indeed soccer  – I veer towards entertainment.

When Marcus Smith gets the ball you immediately think something exciting might happen – a feint, a jinking run and an/or acceleration into space.

Yet his all round game is limited  His kicking off the tee has not been reliable this season and is way behind Handré Pollard’s.

Smith is neither tall nor big, which affects his tackling, and George Ford’s game management is better.

Will Marcus be the Glenn Hoddle or Jack Grealish of English rugby?

The jury is out and age is on his side.

On a different note, I have started to watch NFL on a Sunday night.

My team is the Miami Dolphins as they are the only one I have seen live at the old Joe Robbie stadium.

They are having a good season and reached the Play-Offs, playing last year’s Super bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs.

Their best player is quarterback Tui Tugolova but – with key injuries – lost their last 2 games to Baltimore Ravens – my tip for the Superbowl – and the Buffalo Bills.

The problem with  NFL is that the game itself takes 1 hour but the televised one runs to 4 hours, such is the advertising content.

It’s also rather technical and one would appreciate an expert explaining the nuances –  as opposed detailing an endless barrage of statistics.