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<\/p>\nMarcus Smith suffered a wound to the mouth in England\u2019s win over Fiji <\/p>\n
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Kevin Sinfield has hailed the bravery of Marcus Smith as England consider their full-back options for the Rugby World Cup semi-final against South Africa.<\/p>\n
Smith made a couple of key defensive interventions in the quarter-final against Fiji despite suffering a cut to the lip after an early head-on-head collision with Vinaya Habosi.<\/p>\n
The Harlequins playmaker returned after being patched up as England secured a last-four meeting with the defending champions.<\/p>\n
His selection had come at the expense of Freddie Steward, who had started 29 of his country\u2019s previous 30 games but found himself omitted from the matchday 23.<\/p>\n
England could opt to return Steward to the starting side, though defence coach Sinfield praised Smith\u2019s development into a \u201cworld class\u201d full-back.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think we\u2019d all agree he\u2019s a world-class 10 but last week I felt he was a world-class 15 as well,\u201d Sinfield said of Smith, who had a modified start to training on Tuesday due to his injury. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to remember this guy hasn\u2019t played many minutes as a full-back in Test rugby so far. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat he\u2019s done on the training field has been outstanding. You\u2019re blown away by what he does and he\u2019s been given more time and space now. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf there was any doubt how brave and courageous he is, I think you saw it with your own eyes. The bloke got his face smashed and threw his body into tackles. The guys are in full admiration for how he\u2019s gone about it. He\u2019s just got his face smashed all over the place yet he wants the ball. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just a brave guy. And not just because he\u2019s physically tough, brave, because to be put in like that \u2013 and I know he wanted to go for it \u2013 but to be put on a world stage in a quarter-final and deliver what he delivered was an absolute credit to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s one of those who have been modified today so we\u2019ll get a clearer read in the week but fingers crossed he will be good to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinfield was the first England coach to float the idea of Smith at full-back during their pre-tournament camps this summer, with a couple of encouraging cameos earning the 24-year-old a first professional start at the position against Chile.<\/p>\n
His emergence has left Steward in a strange position: the Leicester youngster had been a mainstay for England since his debut and had been considered a key part of head coach Steve Borthwick\u2019s gameplan leading into the tournament.<\/p>\n
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Freddie Steward was left out of England\u2019s squad against Fiji last weekend <\/p>\n
But Sinfield, who worked with the 22-year-old at Welford Road, has been impressed by how Steward has handled the disappointment and hinted that a return is a possibility for Saturday\u2019s semi-final at the Stade de France.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where our influence, our help, and our guidance sits with the guys who don\u2019t play, how can we help them get better, make them feel part of it,\u201d Sinfield explained. \u201cI have worked with Fred for some time now and thankfully I have not had to have too many of these conversations where you are trying to pick him up. <\/p>\n
\u201cClearly he is disappointed as anybody would be missing out on a quarter-final but he has responded as we would have expected him to. He is a great lad, you know what he is about, he works incredibly hard at his game, he cares and he is an unbelievable full-back too.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur team has changed every game throughout the World Cup and Steve is very specific when he selects the team. He does it in the knowledge he thinks it will give us the best chance of winning that game. Just because Fred wasn\u2019t selected last week doesn\u2019t mean he does anything wrong, he has actually done a lot of great things and a lot of things right.\u201d<\/p>\n