{"id":674352,"date":"2026-07-05T02:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T02:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/674352\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T02:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T02:11:08","slug":"failed-experiment-england-fans-turn-on-one-player-during-springboks-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/674352\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFailed experiment\u201d \u2013 England fans turn on one player during Springboks clash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">England fans turned on Marcus Smith during their Nations Championship clash with South Africa, with the decision to deploy the fly-half at full-back once again coming under heavy scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">England were forced into a late change after George Furbank was ruled out with appendicitis, while Freddie Steward was also carrying an ankle injury.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2b50 Save us to your <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4bziEdo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google Favourites <\/a>for nonstop RUCK content!<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That left Smith, a world-class operator at fly-half, wearing the No.15 shirt against the Springboks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the experiment quickly came under fire as South Africa raced into a commanding early lead, with supporters questioning Smith\u2019s defensive positioning and tackling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One fan wrote:\u00a0\u201cMarcus Smith is not a full-back. Can\u2019t tackle for the life of him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another added:\u00a0\u201cThe Marcus Smith experiment has been ridiculous. He can\u2019t tackle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A third wrote:\u00a0\u201cMarcus Smith is NOT a full-back! No high-ball presence and a revolving door in defence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another supporter described the selection of Smith at 15 against the Springboks, at altitude, as\u00a0\u201cbeggars belief\u201d.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">From one wing to the other! \ud83e\udebd<\/p>\n<p>South Africa win a free-kick, and this time it&#39;s Kurt-Lee Arendse who finishes in the corner. \ud83c\udfc9<\/p>\n<p>How can England cope with this?  \ud83e\udee3 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Pu53ZsSGBY\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/Pu53ZsSGBY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ITVRugby\/status\/2073436723938197670?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, not everyone agreed with the criticism. One fan defended Smith, writing:\u00a0\u201cEngland fans quick to blame Marcus Smith for not making a world-class last-man tackle. It\u2019s just not logical.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The debate over Smith\u2019s best position has followed England for several seasons, but his latest outing at full-back appears to have done little to convince his critics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFailed experiment\u201d \u2013 England fans turn on one player during match against Springboks <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">England were forced into a late change with Marcus Smith once again deployed at fullback after George Furbank was ruled out with apendercitus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Freddie Steward also carrying a knock.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith, who is a world-class fly-half, has frustrated fans at 15 and that continued. today again the Springboks.<\/p>\n<p>Editors Picks:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFound wanting\u201d \u2013 Five England players who flopped against the Springboks<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are five England players who flopped at Ellis Park \u2014 and what Borthwick should do next.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/channel\/AbYd2l05pp1bM_Ix\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Join RUCK\u2019s Instagram broadcast channel <\/a>and get the latest rugby news straight to your phone.<\/p>\n<p>1. Tommy Freeman<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Freeman was not helped by being deployed away from his usual position, where he has previously excelled for Northampton Saints and England.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 25-year-old has all the physical attributes to be effective on the wing but continues to look less comfortable and less polished when used at outside centre.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He began poorly, conceding a penalty for not releasing inside the opening minute, and his overall display was uneven.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Freeman ended the match with a yellow card for shoulder-to-head contact with under ten minutes remaining, effectively ending England\u2019s slim hopes of a comeback.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rugbypass.com\/news\/england-player-ratings-vs-springboks-nations-championship-2026\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">RugbyPass gave him a 4\/10,<\/a> writing: \u201cPenalised moments into the match to give the Boks their platform to score their opening try, as England appeared totally shell-shocked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLinked nicely with Seb Atkinson in the midfield, and his ability to distribute following half breaks was often a source of attacking promise for England. His strong carry off a lineout gave England the momentum they needed for their second try.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShifted to the wing for the final 30 minutes, and while he looked more comfortable there, he was penalised for a high tackle on Damian Willemse, for which he was yellow carded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/rugby-union\/2026\/07\/04\/south-africa-v-england-player-ratings-nations-championship\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Telegraph handed him t<\/a>he same rating, writing: \u201cCostly yellow card for high tackle on Willemse. I will die on the hill that his considerable talents are wasted at centre.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What Borthwick should do:\u00a0Move him back to the wing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ruck.co.uk\/failed-experiment-england-fans-turn-on-one-player-during-springboks-clash\/2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CONTINUES ON PAGE TWO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"England fans turned on Marcus Smith during their Nations Championship clash with South Africa, with the decision to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-674352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}