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In expert analysis, Fin Smith has shown why he deserves the first-choice spot as England's number ten versus New Zealand this weekend.

The Northampton Saints star delivered arguably the best defensive performance observed by an English fly-half for quite some time.

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

His tactical control proved exceptional - he showed an excellent balance of skill and composure, while executing some strong decisions when things were not going to plan during the opening period.

Tackling Prowess and Strategic Leadership

His ability to calm the team strategically while making important decisions represents an aspect he has really mastered.

In my opinion, Fin Smith represents England's number one playmaker and deserves to begin against New Zealand next week.

I think the manager Steve Borthwick sees it that way too, since Smith has proven he can perform in big Test matches.

Squad Decisions and Competition

George Ford began the previous weekend versus the Wallabies for leadership reasons, and part of that choice aimed at ensuring continuity while acknowledging his form from the tour to South America.

But England's showing versus the Pacific Islanders was a significant step up from the performance versus the Wallabies.

The Wallabies lost on Italian soil on Saturday, therefore we must not get overly excited with that win, that could have been by a larger margin given how below par the Australians performed.

Fiji, on the other hand, proved significantly threatening and presented a much more difficult challenge.

Future Prospects

Fin Smith is still only 23 - looking ahead two years, alongside Ford challenging him while providing support, I believe Fin will be in a very strong position in his career.

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

He's progressing in his career while beginning to establish himself, but he also requires liberty to demonstrate his distinctive attributes.

Bench Impact

The All Blacks brought on Damian McKenzie, who registered the match-winning score defeating Scotland, demonstrating the importance of having individuals capable of creating genuine influence as substitutes.

Such type of player might represent the deciding factor separating victory a World Cup from failure.

The All Blacks substitute watches the match develop while substituted while considering regarding ways he can make a difference upon entering.

His decision-making and error rate have enhanced significantly since his early professional days.

Positional Debate

Should we develop Smith to be such type influential performer, including him among substitutes might prove beneficial.

Nonetheless, at the moment I don't think Marcus is the answer at full-back, so that is a role remaining up for grabs.

New Zealand will kick testing the English backfield, so it has to be watertight.

It is a position requiring to become a genuine asset, both defensively while regarding of the counter-attack danger.

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

I struggle to identify the advantage fielding him in that position.

I want the ball in his hands frequently, but I believe this should occur among starters, especially during the last 20 minutes.

Innate Qualities

Clearly there exist a lot of parallels between Ford and Fin Smith.

Fin has the capacity executing the correct decisions during tense moments - his natural reactions represent traits you can really coach.

I remember as he received the ball at one stage just inside his territory appearing like it could be should they spread play.

But in those milliseconds he calculated they needed reversing Fiji round since England were up on the scoreboard, so he kicked to pressure them back applying pressure.

That's the sort of playmaking securing championships and wins World Cups.

Complete Package

He additionally possesses that calmness during intensity to organise teammates around him, while recognizing that he doesn't always need to be the first receiver.

I want to see him receiving the chance demonstrating this at elite standards soon, just as we have seen the veteran accomplish, particularly during domestic matches repeatedly consistently.

In Argentina, the experienced fly-half similarly excelled in difficult situations, where historically you could argue occasions existed where he didn't fully done so during extremely tense matches.

I think England possesses two fly-halves who can do the job, but with Fin's defensive work on top of everything else, it makes him the more complete all-round performer.

Tactical Setup

This also indicates you don't have to adjust the defensive structure when you have an assertive player occupying the playmaker position, rather than an individual being a little more passive.

One might present compelling arguments for Ford starting and Fin Smith coming off substitution.

There are so many factors that go on behind closed doors, but whichever way the management choose to proceed, it will give the opponents difficulties.

This hasn't consistently represented the narrative facing New Zealand, where the focus was simply on selecting the optimal individual.

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

Smith's capacity to pick optimal kicks while delivering enabling possible 50-20 might relieve pressure away from the national team.