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Gatland has delivered a 'superstar' assessment of Marcus Smith
Mid-trip call-up Marcus Smith will head home from the 2021 Lions tour with a ringing endorsement from Warren Gatland, the coach who brought England rookie out to South Africa as an early July injury cover for the injured Finn Russell rather than bring in veteran Ireland out-half Johnny Sexton who had featured in Test matches for the famed tourists in 2017 and 2013.
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The 22-year-old had just come off at Twickenham in his second capped appearance for England on July 10 when he learned that he was wanted by the Lions and the 2021 Gallagher Premiership title winner with Harlequins went on to make one tour appearance, starting the July 17 match versus the Stormers in Cape Town.
Smith didn’t go on to feature in the Test series versus the Springboks, Gatland instead selecting Dan Biggar as his No10 for all three games with Owen Farrell twice providing cover from the bench and Russell filling that back-up role in Saturday’s series decider.
However, the England youngster made an indelible impression on the New Zealander, Gatland claiming that Smith would have a considerably meatier Test career of more than two caps if he was Irish, Scottish or Welsh.
He also suggested Smith would use his experience of the 2021 Lions to return as a star in Australia in 2025, progress similar to that experienced in South Africa by first-choice midfielder Robbie Henshaw after he had learned the ropes on the 2017 trip to New Zealand.
The 2025 tour to Australia was a post-game topic in Cape Town, Warren Gatland getting asked if he will be available to coach and what needs to change in the build-up for that series to be a success #LionsTour2021 #LionsRugby #BoksvLions #CastleLionsSerieshttps://t.co/SxzaLzPtQ0
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 7, 2021
“Marcus Smith is going to be a superstar in the game,” enthused Gatland. “He is incredibly talented. If he was probably at any other of the four home nations he would definitely have been playing internationals by now and hopefully he gets that opportunity going forward because he has definitely got an incredible amount of talent.
“There are probably some other players that haven’t been involved but their experience from this will hold them in really good stead for their national teams when they return home and if they do get picked in four years’ time for another Lions tour, that experience will be invaluable for them.
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“A really good example there, I thought Robbie Henshaw was excellent and he probably learned from the experience four years ago. That really brought him on, really improved him as a player in the last four years, and there are going to be a number of players in the same boat and you end up with that mixture of really experienced players, players in the middle and some youngsters who will really grow from being part of the Lions.
“I just hope they [players such as Smith and Sam Simmonds] have learnt a lot from this tour, not so much from playing but from the other players around them in terms of their professionalism and the way that they train, all the extras they do, their recovery. They definitely would have benefited from that.”
"Congratulations to South Africa"
– Lions coach Warren Gatland has held his last media briefing as the 2021 tour head coach following his team's 19-16 loss to the Springboks in Cape Town#LionsTour2021 #LionsRugby #BoksvLions #CastleLionsSerieshttps://t.co/2cvdLYlIRi
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 7, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments