Dawson predicts the battle at 10 will benefit England
The Fin Smith–Marcus Smith fly-half debate was given a good airing when Matt Dawson was the guest on this week's Rugby Paper Podcast, and he provided an intriguing insight into their relative merits.
The England World Cup-winning scrum-half said that he hoped it is a rivalry which lasts for years, and that it can be a positive driving force in helping England to become world champions again. Dawson was effusive about the outstanding ability of both Smiths, and also delved into the importance of temperament in World Cup-winning fly halves.
His view is that at the moment Fin Smith's steady equilibrium – without too many fluctuations in terms of emotional highs and lows – puts him closer than Marcus Smith to the profile of tens like Grant Fox, Michael Lynagh, Joel Stransky, Steve Larkham, Jonny Wilkinson, Dan Carter and Handre Pollard.
However, Dawson said that he had also witnessed how, with the right coaching, high-voltage players like the fist-pumping Harlequins fly-half can learn how to monitor their emotional spikes and become highly effective tacticians.
Have a listen, because it promises to be a rollercoaster fly-half era for English rugby supporters to savour.
