sport news 'That's the Smith we know and love', gushes his mentor after playmaker sparked ... trends now

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Marcus Smith's mentor and former All Black fly-half Nick Evans believes that his heroics against New Zealand showed what the No 10 prodigy can do when he is the ‘boss’ and free to play his natural game.

Harlequins’ rookie playmaker sparked England’s stirring fightback at Twickenham on Saturday, when their late attacking surge helped secure a 25-25 draw after trailing 25-6 going into the final 10 minutes.

The 23-year-old’s creative class was instrumental in the hosts’ three late tries and his club coach relished the sight of Smith showing his true colours at Test level.

‘As soon as he did the hitch-kick and accelerated through that gap, I thought, “I’ve seen that many times before”,’ said Evans.

‘The All Blacks gave him more time and space but what should please England fans is that the team reacted off the back of that, so it wasn’t just Marcus by himself — other people were playing flatter and the point of attack was being moved quickly.