England’s Marcus Smith kicks a conversion during the Summer Series match at Twickenham Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday July 10, 2021.

There’s More Than One Way Of Saying I Love You featuring Lucy Stimpson- Maynard from the album Uplifted recorded and produced by Bob Ross.

I am not sure if you have been watching the Rugby Union World Cup, but for those that are not enthusiasts this week we have the semi- finals with Argentina taking on New Zealand and England taking on South Africa.
I am not a fan of the style of rugby that England are playing at present- it is not adventurous enough and that is one reason why my favourite player Marcus Smith is unlikely to be in the starting line -up. He is a fly half, but the problem is Owen Farrell, the England captain also plays in that position. To accommodate Marcus in the last game against Fiji Marcus played full back, but because of tactics he is unlikely to play there against South Africa.
Anyway, in addition to being a brilliant young rugby player Marcus is also a Christian. An extract from an interview with “Square Mile” is below:
Fuelled by his unwavering faith, strong family values, and an insatiable drive for success, Marcus Smith, the England fly-half, has swiftly ascended to the pinnacle of rugby.
Born in the Philippines, this exceptional talent reflects upon the challenging journey that has led him to the upcoming Rugby World Cup this autumn.
He said “Obviously, that season wasn’t all plain sailing. Around November-December time, I was on the bench a few times at Quins. I wasn’t in contention with England, I wasn’t playing my best rugby.
“My mum is massively religious herself, so she always used to encourage us to pray with her. I wanted a solution. I wanted to try something different because what I was doing wasn’t working, and therefore I trusted my mum and listened to her and started praying with her regularly.
“Through that I felt more at ease with myself. I felt more able to deal with the ups and downs of professional sport and life as well.
It allowed me to understand that everything happens for a reason and everything is meant to happen. As long as you are good and do the right things and you work as hard as you can, that’s all you can ultimately do.
“And so I surrendered all the outcomes, everything that I can’t control to Him and worked as hard as I can at the sport I love dearly. It’s definitely brought me very, very close to God and I believe strongly in Him.

Quote of the week