'Already leading like our 10s should lead': Lions verdict on Smith
Lions assistant Gregor Townsend has a curious verdict on mid-tour call-up Marcus Smith: On the one hand, they are pleased he has fitted seamlessly into training and has no hesitation calling the shots there but on the other hand, they are managing expectations for fear they could be left disappointed by what unfolds for the team this Saturday versus the Stormers.
With Finn Russell injured and Dan Biggar sidelined along with Owen Farrell as Warren Gatland wants them freshened up ahead of next week’s first Test preparations, the baton at No10 has passed to Smith, the playmaker who has been in his element in recent weeks.
First, Bristol and Exeter were stunningly outmanoeuvred to help Harlequins win the English Premiership title for the first time since 2012. Then came his first two Test level caps, Smith chosen by Eddie Jones to be the England No10 in the summer series wins over the USA and Canada.
And now the 22-year-old finds himself flung into the heat of a Lions tour, trying to guide this Saturday’s team to a momentum regaining win over the Stormers following the midweek 17-13 loss to South Africa A.
It’s the Lions’ last preparation match ahead of the Test series opener on July 24, a match where Biggar is tipped to be the starting No10, and they are hoping that the newly arrived Smith can provide the guidance that leads them to a confidence-boosting win ahead of their keenly awaited series versus the Springboks.
Townsend made himself very busy during his week in Lions self-isolation and it should concern the Springboks ahead of the Test series #LionsRugby #LionsSA2021
https://t.co/xoQrCjyPQJ— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 16, 2021
“I’m excited but I am also managing my expectations and I am sure we all are,” said Townsend, the attack and backs coach who recently missed a week of the tour through self-isolation in a Johannesburg hotel following the Lions squad’s virus issue. “This is a tough game for the whole squad. We have had only one training session going into the game, so the Wednesday-Saturday turnaround is really tough so things won’t go perfectly.
“We saw that with the second Sharks game – when a team doesn’t have a huge preparation it takes them a while to get into the flow of things. For someone like Marcus, it is his first game. He has not had the Jersey camp, he has not had the three or four weeks we have had in South Africa, so we have just got to enable him and allow him to play what he sees.
“Already he is leading like our 10s should lead but saying this is the play we are doing but also giving feedback where forwards should be, what we should be doing at a certain time, so that is great because he has got to feel things naturally and if he plays as well as he has for his club and his country the last few weeks he will go well.”
'There was potential head-on-head contact from Jesse Kriel on Chris Harris in a tackle after the ball had gone and an incident involving Sbu Nkosi and Willie le Roux on Anthony Watson' @AndyGoode10 is not happy with Wednesday's officiating #LionsRugbyhttps://t.co/O21TuWZsHH
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 17, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments