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According to rugby specialists, the young playmaker has demonstrated why he deserves the starting position for the national team's number ten against the All Blacks on Saturday.

The Northampton Saints star delivered arguably the most impressive defensive display observed by an English playmaker for quite some time.

How he fronted up by consistently making his tackles versus an aggressive Fijian team was impressive.

His game management was also immense - he demonstrated an excellent balance of finesse and control, and made several crucial choices when things didn't proceed to plan in the first half.

Defensive Excellence Coupled with Tactical Leadership

His ability to calm the team tactically and make important decisions is something he has really nailed.

From my perspective, the young fly-half is England's number one playmaker and deserves to start against the All Blacks this weekend.

I believe the manager the England coach sees it similarly as well, because Fin has proven his capability in big Test matches.

Team Selection Amid Rivalry

The experienced fly-half began the previous weekend versus the Wallabies for leadership reasons, with some aspect of that choice was to provide continuity and reward his form during the visit to South America.

However, the national team's showing against Fiji represented a marked improvement from the performance against Australia.

The Wallabies were defeated on Italian soil last weekend, therefore we must not get overly excited about that victory, which should have been by a larger margin given how below par the Australians performed.

Fiji, by contrast, proved significantly dangerous and presented a much more difficult test.

Future Prospects

Fin Smith is still only twenty-three - projecting forward 24 months, with Ford pushing him while providing backup, I believe Fin will be in a very strong place as a player.

The Harlequins star also has to be regarded as a possibility at the right time and against suitable opponents.

He is developing in his career while beginning to find his feet, though he requires liberty to show his distinctive attributes.

Bench Impact

The All Blacks introduced Damian McKenzie, who scored the decisive try defeating the Scottish team, demonstrating the significance of having individuals who can make a real impact as substitutes.

Such type of player might represent the deciding factor between winning the global tournament from failure.

The All Blacks substitute watches the game develop while substituted and thinks about how he can make an impact upon entering.

His choices and mistake frequency have improved significantly from his initial professional days.

Role Discussion

Should we develop Smith as such type influential player, then having him among substitutes might prove valuable.

Nonetheless, at the moment I believe he is the answer at full-back, so that is a position that is still up for grabs.

The All Blacks will kick to challenge England's backfield, therefore it must to be impenetrable.

This role that needs to become a genuine asset, both defensively and in terms of the counter-attack threat.

Right now, I believe Smith is a full-back in top-tier rugby.

I struggle to identify the benefit of playing him there.

I want the ball under his control frequently, but I believe that should be among starters, particularly in the final 20 minutes.

Natural Instincts

Clearly there exist numerous parallels between Ford with Smith.

Smith possesses the capacity to make right decisions during tense moments - his instincts are not something that can be coach.

I remember when he got the ball during one phase just inside his territory appearing like it could be on if they swung it wide.

But in those milliseconds he calculated they needed to turn Fiji round as we are leading points-wise, so he kicked it to pin the opponents applying the screw.

That's the sort of fly-half play that wins titles and wins World Cups.

All-round Ability

He also has composure during intensity directing teammates nearby, while recognizing that he mustn't always need to be the first option.

I hope to witness him receiving the opportunity to show this at elite standards soon, just as we have seen George Ford accomplish, especially at club level week in consistently.

During the South American tour, the experienced fly-half also stood up during challenging circumstances, where historically you could argue there have been times he has not quite done so during extremely tense matches.

I believe we have playmaking options capable of performing the role, though Smith's defence on top of additional qualities, establishes him as the more complete versatile performer.

Tactical Setup

This also indicates you don't have to modify the defensive structure while fielding someone aggressive occupying the playmaker channel, instead of an individual being a little more reserved.

You could also make a strong case favoring Ford beginning and Fin Smith coming off substitution.

There are so many factors occurring behind closed doors, however the management decide to go, it will give New Zealand problems.

That has not always been the situation facing New Zealand, where the focus concentrated solely on picking the right player.

On this occasion, whichever fly-half selected will pressure New Zealand significantly.

Smith's capacity to pick the right kick and execute for a potential 50-20 might relieve all the stress off England.