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According to rugby specialists, Fin Smith has shown why he deserves the starting position for the national team's number ten versus New Zealand this weekend.

Fin Smith produced without doubt the most impressive defensive performance observed from an England playmaker for quite some time.

His courageous approach by consistently making defensive hits against an aggressive Fiji side was impressive.

His game management proved exceptional - he demonstrated an excellent balance of finesse and composure, while executing some strong choices when things were not going to plan in the first half.

Defensive Excellence Coupled with Tactical Command

His ability to calm the team strategically and make big calls represents an aspect he has truly mastered.

In my opinion, Fin Smith is England's number one fly-half and he should begin versus New Zealand this weekend.

I think head coach the England coach sees it similarly as well, because Fin has proven he can perform in big international games.

Squad Decisions and Competition

George Ford began the previous weekend against Australia due to captaincy reasons, with some aspect of that decision was to provide consistency and reward his form during the visit of Argentina.

However, the national team's performance against Fiji represented a marked improvement from the performance against Australia.

The Wallabies were defeated in Italy on Saturday, so we should not get too carried away about that victory, which should have been more comprehensive given how below par the Australians performed.

The Fijian team, on the other hand, were much more dangerous while offering a much more difficult challenge.

Long-term Potential

The young playmaker is still only twenty-three - projecting forward 24 months, alongside Ford challenging him while providing support, I think Smith will find himself in an excellent position in his career.

The Harlequins star must also be considered as a possibility when appropriate and versus the right opposition.

He is developing in his career while beginning to establish himself, but he also requires liberty to show his unique qualities.

Substitute Influence

New Zealand introduced Damian McKenzie, who scored the decisive try to beat Scotland, demonstrating the importance of having players capable of creating a real impact as substitutes.

That kind of presence might represent the deciding factor between winning a World Cup from failure.

The All Blacks substitute observes the game develop while substituted and thinks about how to create a difference when he comes on.

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

Positional Debate

Should we develop Marcus to be that kind influential performer, including him among substitutes could be beneficial.

However, currently I believe Marcus is the answer at full-back, making it a position that is still up for grabs.

New Zealand are likely to punt to challenge England's defensive line, so it has to be watertight.

It is a position requiring transforming into a real strength, in defense while regarding of the counter-attack danger.

Right now, I believe Smith is a full-back in top-tier rugby.

I struggle to identify the advantage of playing him in that position.

I prefer possession under his control as much as possible, but I believe that should be among starters, particularly during the last 20 minutes.

Natural Instincts

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

Fin has the ability executing the correct choices under pressure - his instincts are not something you can really coach.

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

But in those split-seconds he thought they needed to turn Fiji round since England were leading points-wise, therefore he punted it to pin the opponents and turn the screw.

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

Complete Package

He also has composure under pressure directing teammates around him, and the understanding that he doesn't always need as primary option.

I hope to witness him receiving the chance to show this at elite standards soon, similar to the veteran do, particularly during domestic matches repeatedly consistently.

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

I believe we have playmaking options capable of performing the job, though Smith's defensive work on top of additional qualities, it makes him the better-rounded all-round player.

Defensive System

This also indicates you don't have to adjust your defensive system when you have someone aggressive occupying the playmaker position, rather than an individual being somewhat reserved.

You could also make a strong case favoring Ford beginning and Fin Smith entering from substitution.

There are so many considerations that go on privately, however the coaches decide to go, it will give the opponents difficulties.

This hasn't consistently represented the situation facing New Zealand, where the focus concentrated solely on selecting the optimal individual.

This time, whichever fly-half they choose will pressure the All Blacks under real pressure.

Smith's capacity selecting optimal kicks and execute for a potential 50-20 might relieve all the stress away from the national team.