Paul Grayson: Marcus Smith must learn Jonny Wilkinson’s ‘less is more’ lesson and why ‘ridiculous’ Rassie Erasmus should have won Coach of the Year award

World Cup winner Paul Grayson has had his say on the Smith versus Smith battle for his old England jersey – and the decision not to name Rassie Erasmus World Rugby Coach of the Year.

The former Red Rose star praised Marcus Smith for doing “really well in a terrible autumn” but said the Harlequin must learn the same “less is more” lesson Jonny Wilkinson did if he is to repel the challenge of Fin Smith going forward.

“When you are weighing up fly-half selection the balance should be always what makes the team work best,” Grayson declared.

Praise for Marcus Smith

“Marcus is a brilliant rugby player but, just as Jonny did, has work-ons to make the team function better. Clive [Woodward] had to convince Jonny that clearing rucks and doing the water carrying was not where he was best employed.

“He had to persuade him to stop putting his body on the line all the time, because if you’re at the bottom of a breakdown you’re not organising the next phase or in a position to make the killer pass.

“It took Wilko a while to realise that his inherent desire to do the hard yards actually was hurting the team. Once he got his head around that he became a much more rounded player.

“In the same way now, Marcus needs to understand that if he runs four times and makes one clean break, the clean break is awesome and probably leads to a try.

“But the other three times, if he gets scragged and England lose their shape, it’s going to take him two phases to be in a position to see what’s happening next, who to manoeuvre and how to manipulate.”

Grayson readily acknowledges the eye-catching shift put in by the Quins ace on four successive weekends in a team misfiring all around him.

“He does a lot of stuff on his own and he’s had to this autumn,” Grayson said. “But at international level you’ve got to keep learning or your place might go to somebody that might not be quite as good as you in an area, but is better for the team overall.”

Which brings Grayson onto Northampton’s Fin Smith, who caught the eye with the composed way in which he brought structure to England’s attack off the bench against Japan.

Judgements based on the final 20 minutes against a weak and inexperienced side already well-beaten and tailing off, should not be binding.

Grayson accepts that but says it only adds to the frustration that Fin Smith was not given any sort of opportunity against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

“That’s the shame of this autumn,” he contends. “Fin having 20 minutes against Japan is not what was needed in terms of the evolution of the team and the squad.

“He needed to be closer to it. He should have been on the bench for at least one of the big games just for exposure.

“Marcus has an X-factor, but so does Fin, it’s just it’s hard to point to when he is whispering in somebody’s ear, ‘just a little bit wider attacking, give me this line and I’ll either put you in or go out the back’. You don’t see that.

“You see an attack functioning but don’t fully appreciate his influence on it. Fin understands the way attacking shapes are used, plays very flat and organises well on the hoof. In my opinion, he is a better distributor to the wider channels than Marcus.”

Nine things we learnt from the Autumn Nations Series including ‘mad scientist’ Rassie Erasmus and big decision loading for England

Now is the time for Borthwick to be open-minded on Six Nations selection, according to Grayson. “To use club form between now and England’s visit to Ireland on the first day of February to determine who starts at 10.

“Every game’s an audition, or should be,” added the much-respected BBC Radio 5 Live pundit. “If England’s three 10s are the two Smiths and George Ford, well, show us what you’ve got. Do it for your clubs. Earn the spot.”

The Premiership resumes this weekend, closing the international window in all but Dublin where Ireland face Australia in the clash of Lions series coaches Andy Farrell and Joe Schmidt.

Erasmus award snub

Neither have been able to eclipse Erasmus this year as South Africa went from retaining the World Cup to winning the Rugby Championship and reclaiming their world number one spot to sweeping unbeaten through their European tour.

Despite all that the World Rugby Coach of the Year award went not to the innovative Springboks boss but Jérôme Daret, who guided France to Olympic Sevens glory on home soil.

Coming a year after Jacques Nienaber won the World Cup but missed out on the same award, there were more than murmurs of discontent in South Africa.

Grayson said: “France doing what they did, winning their first sevens world series tournament for 19 years, then going and winning Olympics gold, is an amazing achievement and worthy of some sort of award.

“But what Erasmus has done with South Africa over the last couple of years is just ridiculous really. He should have got the main award.”