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Marcus Smith has explained exactly why he packed down in a Harlequins scrum last weekend

By Josh Raisey
(Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

Harlequins players Marcus Smith and Will Evans, as well as head coach Paul Gustard, have discussed the brief positional switch that occurred in their Gallagher Premiership match against Northampton last Sunday. 

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Defending their own line in the dying minutes, fly-half Smith packed down at blindside flanker, with Evans going the opposite direction to defend the No10 channel, a ploy that paid off. 

Smith explained in a video this week the reasoning behind that decision, saying: “We saw in the week Northampton like sending [Taqele] Naiyaravoro at the fly-half, so Gussy being Gussy (Gustard) thought outside the box and found a way to exploit it as a positive opportunity.”

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Gustard further expounded the rationale behind such a decision, where Evans won a turnover a few phases later. He said: “We felt having Will Evans there was like a scud missile taking away the knees of the attacker.

“The pleasing thing was that Northampton recognised we made a change and in doing so they then made a change of their play and actually bypassed Big T (Naiyaravoro). We actually manipulated the play that Northampton were going to play.”

Such a tactic adopted by Quins is becoming increasingly common in the game where forwards and backs switch roles at the set-piece It has never been uncommon to see a fly-half drop to the backfield when defending a lineout or scrum, allowing a more robust teammate in the backline to fill the channel.

But as backs like Naiyaravoro have become increasingly regular, players from the pack are perhaps the most effective ones to nullify such a threat. 

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Evans himself said: “You can’t be rigid in rugby. There are always ways you can get around certain situations.” That succinctly summarises how players and coaches must now be malleable in their approach. 

Smith even described the coaching he had received in the build-up from scrum coach Adam Jones, which suggests that may not be the last time Harlequins deploy such a tactic.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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