marcus smith insists England While they try to avoid another Guinness, they prepare to climb off the canvas for their zero shot in Dublin Six Nations mismatch.
Smith watches Saturday’s showdown with Grand Slam chase Ireland At the Aviva Stadium, as a “free kick” on the basis that no one even gave England a chance to throw a punch to ruin the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
He was beaten by a record 53-10. France In the fourth round at Twickenham, they were placed as 7-1 weak players to beat the world number one side in their last competitive fixture before the World Cup.
The failure causes them to finish with just two wins for their third consecutive Six Nations, but Smith insists his team will come out fighting.
“We’re in a tough time right now and it’s perfect for us,” said Harlequins fly-half.
“We have to get better fast because the challenge is not much bigger than Ireland away in Dublin.
“There’s only one way to go now, and that’s to get up and fight as hard as we can and play as hard as we can for the jersey.
“We talked about sticking together because there’s going to be a lot of noise and a lot of pressure on us. Instead of a splinter, we have to be tighter.
Now there is only one way to go and that is to get up and fight as hard as we can and play as hard as we can for the jersey.
marcus smith
“This is a big test of our unity and determination as a team. There is no better week for this than a free kick in Ireland.
“Time is against us, but I believe we still have time. With the characters we have in the group, we can turn things around very quickly.
“We have a week to right some wrongs and we should be on the same page right away.”
France racked up seven tries as they ravaged Twickenham, leading to England’s heaviest defeat in the tournament since its founding in 1882.
“We weren’t built to lose that way in the week,” said Smith, whose half-time turn quickly turned into a nightmare as England shattered in the contact area.
“We’re going to look at our individual performances and our team performance because that wasn’t good enough for where we wanted to go in the next six months and years ahead.
“We will try our best to get better this week, but that is a good indication of where we are on this journey.”
Ollie Lawrence was unable to reach the top of the Six Nations due to a hamstring injury, and Manu Tuilagi placed the void in the inner centre.