Smith v Smith - start of a new England fly-half era?

Summer Series: Japan v England

Venue: Japan National Stadium, Tokyo Date: Saturday, 22 June Kick-off: 06:50 BST

Coverage: Live power commentary connected BBC 5 Sports Extra and unrecorded matter updates connected nan BBC Sport website and app.

When you deliberation of occurrence successful rugby it ordinarily comes done a brilliant astatine fly-half.

The brains down nan operation. Arguably nan astir important occupation connected a rugby field, that domiciled must beryllium successful safe hands.

The England fly-half jersey complete nan past decade has been dominated by Owen Farrell and George Ford. With complete 200 caps betwixt them, 3 Six Nations titles and a World Cup final, their activity connected and disconnected nan section has been pivotal.

Injuries, suspension and shape astatine times has occasionally opened nan doorway for caller talent to emerge, but nan pair's beingness successful campy has been adjacent to imperishable complete nan past decade.

A summer tour-ending Achilles injury to Ford and Farrell's determination to move to Racing 92 person yet opened nan doorway for others to person a longer run.

Marcus Smith, 25, and Fin Smith, 22, are group to conflict it retired complete England's summertime circuit of Japan and New Zealand for nan starting 10 jersey.

No Ford and nary Farrell will mean nan England situation feels very different.

"Whenever they [Ford and Farrell] are successful a room it is very difficult for personification other to bid a squad and tally nan squad arsenic they person done it truthful brilliantly for truthful galore years," erstwhile England scrum-half Danny Care told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly.

"Even if they are not playing aliases connected nan chair location is simply a look to them to opportunity 'is that each right?' because of their occurrence and really bully they are."

Marcus Smith starts connected Saturday against Japan successful Tokyo, pinch a beardown capacity needed to put him successful rod position to clasp nan 10 garment for 2 mega Tests successful New Zealand.

Injury prevented Smith, who started nan full 2022 Six Nations up of Ford, challenging nan Sale Sharks fly-half for his starting jersey for nan opening 3 rounds of this year's championship.

Things are yet to afloat click for him astatine number 10 for England and Saturday will beryllium his first commencement astatine fly-half since past summer's World Cup warm-up conclusion by Wales.

Smith, who has been capped 32 times, moved to full-back during past autumn's World Cup, drafting similarities to Ford and Farrell's successful 10-12 combo that sewage England's very champion players connected nan pitch.

In this year's Six Nations, Smith showed his brilliance disconnected nan bench, pinch a match-winning drop-goal against Ireland and a sharply vanished second-half effort from full-back successful defeat by France.

Northampton rival Fin Smith is 3 years younger - he only turned 22 successful May - and this period helped steer Saints to a first Premiership title successful a decade astatine his tender years.

He made his England debut successful this year's Six Nations but only played 33 minutes crossed nan opening 3 rounds earlier losing his chair spot to his namesake.

Cool, calm and composed, nan younger Smith has shown signs he has nan correct temperament for nan large shape and is named connected nan chair successful Tokyo.

Care, who played pinch some players during this year's Six Nations, believes they could "work really good together" connected nan transportation "at nan aforesaid time" - a instrumentality utilized earlier to get 2 talented playmakers connected nan field.

"It is simply a large fewer weeks for him [Marcus Smith] to spell - 'Right, this is really I want to play'," Care added. "Marcus will beryllium hopeless to opportunity 'This is really I tally nan team'.

"But I deliberation they will some play monolithic roles connected this tour."

The youngest subordinate against nan Brave Blossoms will beryllium 21-year-old Harlequins flanker Chandler Cunningham-South, who makes his first Test start.

Like Northampton's Smith, Cunningham-South was fixed cameos disconnected nan chair during nan Six Nations, arsenic Steve Borthwick drip-fed successful nan adjacent procreation of imaginable England stars.

A big, abrasive shot bearer and hard-hitting defender, Cunningham-South, who grew up successful New Zealand, has a level of physicality not ordinarily produced successful England.

"I don't deliberation we person sewage different subordinate for illustration Chandler and if we tin harness him and get nan champion retired of him past England will beryllium dangerous," Cunningham-South's Harlequins team-mate Care added.

"He runs to wounded and bust tackles. The measurement he hits group dormant successful their tracks. His activity complaint is phenomenal.

"He will get astir nan park, nan aggression that is successful him - you can't thatch that successful forwards, it comes people to Chandler.

"He wants to tally done group and melt group successful tackles."

It will beryllium erstwhile England caput coach Eddie Jones' first crippled backmost successful complaint of Japan connected Saturday.

Jones and Borthwick worked together during Jones' first stint successful complaint of Japan from 2012 to 2015 and maintained their business pinch England until 2020.

England person ne'er mislaid to Japan and hit them 34-12 astatine nan World Cup successful their past meeting. Added to nan truth Marcus scored doubly successful a 52-13 triumph successful 2022, Borthwick's broadside person had nan precocious manus connected nan Brave Blossoms.

Borthwick is nary longer an understudy to Jones, but arsenic England caput coach he is alternatively a dense favourite to conclusion his erstwhile boss, who has named an inexperienced Japan team.

"What a commencement that would beryllium for Eddie, nan maestro against nan apprentice," erstwhile England helping Chris Ashton told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly.

"There astir apt couldn't beryllium a amended crippled for him."

Japan did lead Jones' England astatine half-time at Twickenham successful 2018 and he will dream nan Tokyo humidity, imaginable rainfall and immoderate wrong knowledge connected England's players will thief origin an upset.