'I'm glad I've found my smile again, I went away from that a couple of years ago'
Marcus Smith has spoken about how his demeanour on the rugby pitch is now very different to what it was in recent years at Harlequins. The 22-year-old Gallagher Premiership player of the year nominee has been in regal form in recent months, his swashbuckling play accompanied by an infectious beaming smile across his face, something that wasn’t the case not so long ago.
It was June 2019 when he was chosen in an England XV versus the Barbarians and he was regularly touted since then as the next big thing in the wake of that emergence. However, Smith remains uncapped at Test level but England boss Eddie Jones appears to have recently warmed to him again following a rich run of form at Harlequins.
“What we are seeing from him is more like when he played at Brighton College,” said Jones at the start of June. “I remember watching him in 2015 at Brighton College where when there was something on he took it and maybe for a period of time he was more likely to be a pattern player.
“He is getting a nice balance in his game between understanding the responsibilities of getting the team organised but then playing what is in front of him and his development is really positive.”
Smith made himself available for a rare media briefing this week with Harlequins preparing for Saturday’s Premiership semi-final at Bristol and he jogged his memory back to those care-free schooldays when quizzed by RugbyPass about the recent Jones comments and what he was like as a teenager.
"For a period of time he was more likely to be a pattern player…"
– The England verdict on out-half prospect Marcus Smith https://t.co/ZtbvJnLXzg
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 3, 2021
“When I was a bit younger I was a bit cheeky, a bit too cheeky. I got told off a little bit when I was younger. But as I grew older in the school I credit a lot of it to Nick Buoy, the way he managed me in my last couple of years at school was brilliant. He made me run the warm-ups, he made me organise the team through the school day, announce the team. I had to do that at 17, 18 years of age.
“So he made me take on those sorts of responsibilities pretty early and then on a rugby side he always told me to play what is in front and do it while smiling which for me I try and do now. I went away from that, if I am being honest with myself, a couple of years ago and I’m glad that I have found my smile again because it has definitely helped me on the pitch.”
Why did you lose your smile? “I don’t know. If I had the answers I don’t think I would have got into that position myself but I am glad that I have gone past that now and hopefully it doesn’t come back because it helps me out and keeps me happy.”
What has certainly helped is his faith. While being interviewed Smith wore a gold cross necklace and he went on to outline the role religion plays in his life. “Yes, I do believe in God. I pray a fair bit with my mum, she prays for me all the time. I try and keep God on my side so he looks after me on the field.”
That field is now the stage where Smith has become another star name showcasing the increasing diversity prevalent in the game in England. Born in Manila, Smith spent the first twelve years of his life in Asia and that background makes him feel enormous pride. “I’m very proud of being born in the Philippines. I’m very proud to have lived some of my life there,” he enthused.
“I know what it is like back there and if I can be of any inspiration at all to any young player in England, in the Philippines or wherever it may be, I would love to do that. It’s a privilege and an honour to do that but it’s not at the forefront of my mind.
“For me, it’s about delivering good performances week in week out for a club I love, do my friends and family proud and then hopefully in turn that will encourage people to get out and play rugby because it is good fun for me and I hope it is good fun for them as well.”
Harlequins is definitely where Smith’s heart is. The youngster has made more than 100 appearances for the club but was rumoured with a move away before a deal was signed not long following the sudden January departure of Paul Gustard as head of rugby. The teenage fan who went on to wear the No10 jersey is delighted his future is now secure there. It was a dream of mine to play for Harlequins,” he continued.
“I remember watching Harlequins at Twickenham in the Premiership final so I was desperate to do that. Obviously, there were rumours circulating around me but when the offer was made by Harlequins it was a no-brainer for me.
“I was desperate to continue my time at my childhood club and I love the group the minute, I love the way the coaches are connecting with us and I hope to stay here for a very long time. I am desperate to deliver trophies to this club because it definitely holds a special place in my heart.”
England boss Jones recently highlight how rucks in the southern hemisphere have quickened up this year, the average ruck time falling from three to two seconds, and it is apparent in recent months in the Premiership that the tempo is also increasing, something that perfectly suits Smith’s speedy style of play.
“We speak a lot about the lightning-quick ball, we try and make the ball as quick as possible,” he explained about the Harlequins approach. “We have got brilliant back-rowers, we have got brilliant tight-five forwards who have been excellent all season, very physical, very brutal at the breakdown.
“It’s making life very easy for me and Danny (Care) and the rest of the backs so massive credit has got to go to the forwards, and we have gone back to our DNA in terms of offloading and keeping the ball alive which I guess stops the ruck completely which has been a massive positive for us.
“It’s something we are going to try and bring to this weekend (in Bristol) because when the sun comes out, it makes it a lot easier and hopefully we can speed up the ruck to give me and the rest of the backs a chance.”
"I know what I'm like at that weight and there is no chance I'd be running around the field like he does"
– Adam Jones on what Wilco Louw has done for the Harlequins scrum following the exit of Kyle Sinckler #SALvHARhttps://t.co/LOydHNykUc
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 4, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
27 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
27 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks 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?
11 Go to comments