Three minutes after half-time, Twickenham was the quietest it had been since they opened the gates earlier in the day. The All Blacks were coming on strong after the restart, making wave after wave of breaks down the left side, then back towards the middle of the pitch. England were reeling, leaning into the ropes under the weight of blows, the right corner of their own try-line closing in fast behind them.
Scott Barrett banged the ball on, through Jamie George, and the New Zealand scrum-half Cortez Ratima stooped to gather it up. He took a quick look, there were three attackers lining up outside him, and only two defenders ahead. The try was on. Across the gainline, Marcus Smith was watching. In the hustle-bustle of England's scramble defence, he hadn't taken his eyes off the ball, and his mind was working all the while on what was going to happen next.
Smith met the pass midway through its flight, grabbed it and set off downfield. Time can behave in strange ways in Test rugby, Smith is one of those rare athletes who can fit more into his minutes than the rest of us, and that split-second hesitation by Ratima was enough for him to break the game open.
When the cover closed in he waited and waited and waited until the very last moment, then he finally released the pass to George Furbank, who had caught up to his inside shoulder. It ought to have been the match-winner and the crowning moment of one of Smith's best games yet.
Collection
[
|
...
]