Marcus Smith is a legitimate option at full-back for England during the World Cup, reveals Kevin Sinfield

Kevin Sinfield has revealed that Marcus Smith is still an option at fullback as England look to unleash their attack.

Harlequin’s fly-half Smith injected energy and creativity into the England game when he came on as a second-half substitute in the World Cup warm-up games against Ireland and Fiji.

Head coach Steve Borthwick will assign his team to face Argentina in their crucial Pool D opener on Thursday, with Smith being considered as support for starting 15 Freddie Steward.

“Marcus is a magician with the ball – step up with both feet, quick, can beat the opponent for fun,” said defensive line coach Sinfield.

“So why not try to give him a little more time and space than he would normally get at 10 years old, and get him a little wider?”

“We’ve been working on it for a few weeks now, while he’s in training. In the back he was incredible.

He immediately embraced it. It was a question put to him. Have you ever played 15? His first answer was ‘No, but I would like to’.

“It would be crazy of us to put Marcus in the team and not try to put the ball in his hands and give him space to attack. He is a different attack threat than Fred.

“Fred is six feet tall and weighs 250 pounds, so he brings another threat to Marcus when he carries the ball.”

More to follow.