Jamie George has revealed that Marcus Smith was under team orders to kick the ball dead and accept the draw with New Zealand.
England’s fly-half came in for heavy criticism from Sir Clive Woodward and former England stars Matt Dawson and Mike Brown for not going for the win with the final play of last week’s Twickenham clash. The trio blasted the “safety-first mentality” of Eddie Jones’ team, with World Cup winner Dawson saying “it blew my mind that England wouldn’t even have a go” against 14 players.
As the man who put boot to leather, Smith became the face of that decision, despite having done more than anyone to rescue his side from a harrowing defeat. But George has now set the record straight, confirming the option to not roll the dice after the buzzer was a collective one.
