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According to rugby specialists, Fin Smith has shown why he deserves the starting position as England's fly-half against the All Blacks on Saturday.

Fin Smith delivered arguably the best defensive performance observed from an England playmaker for quite some time.

How he fronted up by consistently making his tackles against a physical Fijian team was impressive.

His game management was also immense - he demonstrated a perfect blend of skill and composure, while executing some strong decisions during moments were not going as expected in the first half.

Defensive Excellence Coupled with Tactical Command

His ability to settle the squad tactically and make important decisions represents an aspect he has truly mastered.

From my perspective, Fin Smith is England's number one fly-half and deserves to begin versus the All Blacks this weekend.

I think the manager the England coach sees it similarly too, because Fin has proven his capability in big Test matches.

Team Selection and Competition

The experienced fly-half started last Saturday versus the Wallabies for leadership reasons, with some aspect of that choice was to provide consistency while acknowledging his form from the tour of Argentina.

However, the national team's showing versus the Pacific Islanders was a significant improvement from the performance against Australia.

The Wallabies lost in Italy on Saturday, so we should avoid becoming too carried away about that victory, that could have been more comprehensive considering how off the pace the Australians performed.

Fiji, on the other hand, proved significantly threatening while offering a far tougher challenge.

Long-term Potential

Fin Smith is still only 23 - looking ahead 24 months, with Ford pushing him but also offering backup, I think Smith will find himself in a very strong place as a player.

The Harlequins star also has to be considered as a possibility when appropriate and against suitable opponents.

He is developing as a player and is starting to find his feet, though he requires liberty to demonstrate his distinctive attributes.

Bench Impact

New Zealand brought on Damian McKenzie, who scored the match-winning try to beat Scotland, and that shows the importance of having players capable of creating genuine influence as substitutes.

That kind of player might represent the deciding factor between winning the global tournament from failure.

The All Blacks substitute observes the game unfold while substituted and thinks regarding ways he can make a difference upon entering.

His choices and mistake frequency have enhanced substantially from his initial professional days.

Positional Debate

If we can get Smith to be such type of impactful performer, then having him among substitutes could be valuable.

However, at the moment I believe Marcus represents the solution at full-back, making it a role remaining unclaimed.

The All Blacks are likely to punt testing the English backfield, so it has to be watertight.

This role that needs to become a genuine asset, in defense while regarding offensive transitions threat.

Right now, I believe Marcus functions as full-back at the highest level.

I struggle to see the benefit fielding him there.

I prefer the ball under his control frequently, but I believe that should be in the front line, particularly during the last 20 minutes.

Natural Instincts

There are obviously a lot of parallels comparing Ford and Fin Smith.

Smith possesses the ability to make the correct decisions during tense moments - his instincts represent traits you can really coach.

I remember as he received the ball during one phase just inside his own half appearing that opportunity existed on if they spread play.

However during these milliseconds he thought the team required reversing the opposition since England were leading points-wise, therefore he punted it to pin them back applying pressure.

This represents the type of fly-half play securing championships and wins global tournaments.

All-round Ability

He also has that calmness during intensity directing the players nearby, and the understanding that he doesn't constantly serve to be the first receiver.

I want to see him receiving the opportunity demonstrating this at elite level next week, just as we have seen the veteran accomplish, particularly during club level week in consistently.

In Argentina, the experienced fly-half similarly excelled in difficult situations, previously you could argue there have been times where he didn't fully delivered during extremely tense games.

I think England possesses two fly-halves who can do the role, but with Fin's defence combined with everything else, it makes him the better-rounded all-round performer.

Tactical Setup

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

You could also make a strong case for Ford starting and Fin Smith coming off the bench.

Numerous considerations that go on privately, but whichever way the coaches choose to proceed, it will give New Zealand problems.

This hasn't consistently represented the narrative against the All Blacks, when attention was simply on picking the optimal individual.

On this occasion, whichever fly-half they choose can put New Zealand under real pressure.

Fin's ability to pick optimal kicks and execute for a potential territorial gains can take all the stress away from England.