England head coach Eddie Jones believes Marcus Smith can handle the BT Murrayfield atmosphere when he makes his Guinness Six Nations debut against Scotland on Saturday.
Smith, 23, will earn his sixth international cap in the Calcutta Cup clash, although it will be his first away from Twickenham.
He has, however, already demonstrated he can hold his nerve in pressure situations, as it was his last-minute penalty that earned a 29-28 victory against world champions South Africa last November.
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Smith is sure to be tested in Edinburgh, as he goes head-to-head with his dynamic Scottish counterpart Finn Russell, and Jones is expecting his young fly-half to be targeted by the hosts.
“I’m sure Scotland are going to come at him,” Jones said.
“We feel Marcus is ready to keep progressing his Test career. Every young 10 starts off at the stage where there are doubts about his experience to handle the pressure of the situation.
“At some stage they play a game bigger than they’ve ever played and it’s all part of their learning curve.
“I’ve got no doubt Marcus has got the desire and the drive to be one of the best 10s in the world and this game on Saturday will be an opportunity for him to continue his progress.
“There’s no reason why he can’t handle Saturday. He’s stuck between someone who has played 112 caps (Ben Youngs) and then Henry Slade and Elliot Daly who are both four or five-season Test players.”
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Smith has developed a reputation for playing ‘heads-up’ rugby during his career by making himself a gain line threat with ball in hand, as well as a quick-thinking distributor.
With wet and windy conditions forecast for the game, he may have to alter his usual attacking mindset but Jones feels decision-making is another strength of his.
“It’s always about judgement. Looking up, what’s the opportunity? Is it the right time? Is it the right field position?” Jones explained.
“He’s a good decision-maker. You’ve only got to watch what he did against South Africa where against the best team in the world he was able to get us from our 22 to their 22 and to kick the goal to win the game.
“He made calculated decisions on when to move the ball and when to kick the ball and he’ll do that again on Saturday.”
