Marcus Smith got told off by referee Nic Berry after dashing over to speak to his Harlequins and England half-back colleague Danny Care as the scrum was packing down against Wales.

The England fly-half left it a bit late to pass on some last-minute messages to Care and Berry took offence calling a halt to proceedings as the packs engaged with Smith and Care standing side by side.

Read more: England Rugby World Cup squad

Berry got the scrum to reset but sent No 10 Smith backpedalling to his positon in the backline. The Amazon Prime cameras and microphone picked up Berry telling Smith: “What are you doing here, get away!”

Luckily for England here was no serious penalty for Smith’s slightly blaisé approach to on-field communications. The fly-half is guaranteed a spot on the plane to France for the World Cup after coach Steve Borthwick publicly declared he would be one of three fly-halves in his 33-man squad.

Smith will go alongside skipper Owen Farrell and George Ford but the public show of faith ahead of Monday’s official squad announcement can only have helped the 24-year-old’s confidence. Smith recently signed a new deal at Harlequins, reportedly after being given assurances about his standing in the international set-up by Borthwick.

Related: Full list of all the World Cup warm-ups

Smith kicked England into a 9-6 lead at half-time at the Principality Stadium in the first Summer Series/World Cup warm-up game for both teams.

It was a first 40 marred by a litany of handling errors that prevented either side from gaining much momentum. England dominated territory and possession but like this year’s Six Nations, failed to find a cutting edge in the Wales 22. Two five-metre lineouts went awry at crucial times.

For Wales, Leigh Halfpenny’s 100th cap brought some customary reliable tackling, on Joe Marchant after Smith’s delayed ball had set him free, and metronomic goalkicking as he helped the home side pick up six points from their first two visits to the opposition’s 22.

However, there was some bad injury news for Wales as hooker Ryan Elias trudged off early on in the piece, being replaced by Elliot Dee. With Six Nations captain Ken Owens already out injured with a back injury, Warren Gatland’s resources at hooker are being tested.

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