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Marcus Smith (rugby union)

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Marcus Smith
Smith representing Harlequins during the Gallagher Premiership
Full nameMarcus Sebastian Smith
Date of birth (1999-02-14) 14 February 1999 (age 25)
Place of birthManila, Philippines
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight76 kg (168 lb; 12 st 0 lb)
SchoolBrighton College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half, Fullback
Current team Harlequins
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017– Harlequins 165 (1,505)
Correct as of 27 October 2024
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017 England U18 6 (37)
2017–2018 England U20 7 (59)
2021– England 38 (270)
Correct as of 17 November 2024
Medal record
Men's Rugby union
Representing  England
Rugby World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2023 France Squad

Marcus Sebastian Smith (born 14 February 1999) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins. Born in the Philippines, he represents England at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds and residency having lived in the UK since the age of 13.[1][2][3]

Early life

[edit]

Born in the Philippines to a British father and a Filipina mother,[4] Smith started playing rugby union at the age of seven for Centaurs RFC when his family moved to Singapore.[5] He moved to the United Kingdom at the age of thirteen and subsequently received a sports scholarship to attend Brighton College, where he captained the school's 1st XV.[6] The young fly-half was named Player of the Tournament at the 2016 St Joseph's Rugby Festival.[7]

Club career

[edit]

The fly-half first represented Harlequins at the 2016 Premiership Rugby Sevens Series.[8]

During the 2016–17 season, as part of the Harlequin Elite Player Development Group (EPDG), Smith played five fixtures for the Harlequin U18s Academy side, scoring two tries; one each against London Irish and Saracens and contributing ten points from the tee in Harlequins U18s Academy Final win over Sale Sharks U18s.[9]

In March 2017, Smith was promoted from the EPDG up to the full-time Academy starting in June.[10]

Smith was named in the 12-man senior squad,[11] alongside another Brighton College graduate Calum Waters, for the 2017 Singha Premiership Rugby Sevens at Franklin's Gardens. Smith scored two tries against London Irish[12] on the first day and assisted Harlequins in reaching the club semi-final before losing out to Newcastle Falcons.[13]

On 2 September 2017 Smith made his professional debut wearing the number 10 jersey for the senior Harlequins side in the Premiership Rugby London Double Header fixture against London Irish at Twickenham Stadium.[1] Two weeks later, Smith gave a Man-of-the-Match performance against Wasps, helping to end the home side's 20-match winning streak at Ricoh Arena.[14]

He started in the Premiership final against Exeter Chiefs on 26 June 2021 as Harlequins won the game 40–38 in the highest scoring Premiership final ever, which included four conversions from Smith's boot.[15]

In the Heineken Champions Cup match between Harlequins and Castres Olympique on 21/01/22, Smith scored the final conversion after Alex Dombrandt scored the final try, giving Harlequins a win of 36 to 33.

In March 2023, having been left out of the training squad for England's 2023 Six Nations fixture that week, Smith won man of the match in Harlequins Big Game fixture, beating Exeter Chiefs 40-5.[16]

During the 2023–24 Champions Cup, Smith scored a try and a drop goal, winning man of the match at Harlequins beat Racing 92 31-28 away.[17] In March 2024, he won man of the match again, scoring a try and supplying a cross-field kick to André Esterhuizen as Harlequins won their first ever Champions Cup knockout game, beating Glasgow Warriors 28-24 at home in the Round of 16.[18] The following week he kicked 5 conversions in the club's 42-41 defeat of Union Bordeaux Bègles in the quarter finals making it only the second time the club had won a knockout stage game in the competition and there first away victory at this stage.[19] Following their qualification to the semi finals, Smith was one of eight players nominated for Player of the Championship for the 2023-24 season.[20]

International career

[edit]

England U18

[edit]

Smith started his first England appearance with a try in an under-16s match victory against Wales in April 2015.[21] In February 2017 Smith represented the England under-20 team against Italy in the 2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship[22] and then in April 2017 scored a try for the England under-18 team against Ireland.[23]

In May 2017, Smith took part in a training session with the elite senior England squad, during their 3-day camp at Brighton College, in preparation for the Old Mutual Wealth Cup match against the Barbarians and their summer tour to Argentina.[24]

In July 2017 Smith was named in the England U18s squad for a tour of South Africa in August[25] but was withdrawn prior to the tour[25] and instead on 3 August 2017 Smith was named in Eddie Jones' pre-season senior England training squad.[26] Eddie Jones described Smith's inclusion in the senior squad as part of the plan to develop young players as well as to give pressure on experienced players such as Owen Farrell and George Ford.[26]

England U20

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On 22 September 2017, Smith was named in the 33-man England training squad for a camp in Oxford ahead of the Autumn internationals, although England coach Eddie Jones said he would be "treated like an apprentice".[27] In the following month on 26 October, Smith was called into the England squad for the Autumn international series.[28] He was also part of the training squad during the 2018 Six Nations Championship.[29]

Smith was named in the England U20 squad for the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in France[30] and scored tries in pool games against Argentina[31] and Italy.[32] He started at fly-half for the semi-final against South Africa[33] and defeat in the final against France as England finished runners up to the hosts.[34] Smith declined selection for the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[35]

England

[edit]

After declining to join the 2019 U-20 team, Smith instead made his non-capped England debut on 2 June 2019 against the Barbarians.[36] During the game, Smith contributed 26 points, including a try towards a 51–43 victory for England and was awarded Man of the Match for his performance.[37]

On 4 July 2021, Smith made his full England test debut against the United States, contributing 13 points, including a try, in a 43–29 victory.[38] He earned his second start against Canada six days later, with a faultless kicking display in a 70–14 win for England.[39]

In the 2021 Autumn rugby union internationals Smith scored a try as a second-half replacement against Tonga on 6 November, and kicked five conversions. He started the match against Australia the following week as fly-half but often stood outside Owen Farrell until Farrell went off injured in the second half. He played a full match at fly-half against South Africa on 20 November, kicking three conversions and two penalties, one in the last minute to give England the victory by a single point.

England's 2022 Six Nations season opened with the Calcutta Cup fixture away at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on 5 February. In the absence of Owen Farrell through injury and George Ford not in the original squad, Smith started at number 10 and his performance was highly praised. However many were surprised that, despite this and England's early dominance, coach Eddie Jones decided to replace Smith after 60 minutes despite his having scored a try and made four successful kicks. In the subsequent Six Nations game against Italy, Smith played for the full 80 minutes and scored England's first try and was awarded Man of the Match, an accolade he was again awarded in their next game against Wales. Smith was the highest point scorer for the 2022 Six Nations Championship.

In August 2023, England Head Coach Steve Borthwick selected Smith for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.[40] Throughout the tournament, Smith made his international debut at full back having seemingly fallen to third choice at fly half behind George Ford and England Captain Owen Farrell. Smith played at full back throughout the tournament including England's quarter final victory over Fiji, as they went on to finish third at the tournament.[41][42]

In January 2024, it was announced that Smith was on crutches after suffering an injury. It meant that he was likely to miss the Six Nations tournament in what England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth admitted would be a "blow" to the team's chances.[43] However he went to feature in the tournament. In England's match against Ireland at Twickenham on March 9, Smith scored a drop goal to end the match and give England the victory with a 23-22 score line. [44] In the final game of the tournament, he put in another impressive performance off the bench. Having replaced George Furbank at full back early on, he scored a try at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais at England narrowly lost 33-31 in France after a late penalty from Thomas Ramos.[45]

In June 2024, Smith scored 13 points in a good win over Japan on 22/6/24. This included his 12th try in just his 31st international.[46] In October 2024, he was named in the England squad to compete in the autumn nations series.[47] Later that month, he was one of 17 players to be awarded an Enhanced Elite Squad Player (EPS) contract by the RFU.[48]

British and Irish Lions

[edit]

On 10 July, Smith was called up to the 2021 British and Irish Lions squad as injury cover for Finn Russell.[49] On 17 July, Smith made his British and Irish Lions debut, playing at fly-half for the full 80 minutes against the Stormers. He converted all 7 tries successfully for a 49–3 win for the Lions.[50]

Career statistics

[edit]

List of international tries

[edit]

as of 13 July 2024.[51]

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 July 2021 Twickenham Stadium, London, England  United States 36–15 43–29 2021 Summer Internationals
2 6 November 2021 Twickenham Stadium, London, England  Tonga 53–3 69–3 2021 Autumn Internationals
3 5 February 2022 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland  Scotland 14–10 17–20 2022 Six Nations Championship
4 13 February 2022 Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy  Italy 5–0 33–0
5 16 July 2022 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia  Australia 19–10 21–17 2022 England tour of Australia
6 12 November 2022 Twickenham Stadium, London, England  Japan 15–0 52–13 2022 Autumn Internationals
7 50–13
8 26 August 2023 Twickenham Stadium, London, England  Fiji 13–20 22–30 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up match
9 23 September 2023 Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France  Chile 29–0 71–0 2023 Rugby World Cup
10 62–0
11 16 March 2024 Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu, France  France 22–16 31–33 2024 Six Nations Championship
12 22 June 2024 National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan  Japan 12–3 52–17 2024 Summer Internationals

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Spink, Alex (19 September 2017). "Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith catches England selectors' eye". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  2. ^ Hamilton, Tom (13 October 2023). "England to start Smith at fullback in World Cup quarterfinal". ESPN. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  3. ^ Meagher, Gerard (22 September 2017). "Marcus Smith of Quins can be England's X-factor rookie, says Eddie Jones". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Teenage Filipino-British wunderkind Marcus Smith rewarded by Harlequins rugby club in UK". GMA News Online. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  5. ^ Kitson, Robert (15 July 2021). "Marcus Smith gets to live childhood dream with Lions in South Africa". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  6. ^ Meagher, Gerard (22 September 2017). "Marcus Smith of Quins can be England's X-factor rookie, says Eddie Jones". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  7. ^ https://twitter.com/BrightonCollege/status/788371435945271296
  8. ^ "Harlequins make one change to Singha sevens squad for Sunday's finals". Harlequins F.C. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  9. ^ Lawton, Andrew (16 February 2017). "Under 18s Academy Finals Day – Final: Harlequins 20 Sale Sharks 8". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Six exciting prospects join Harlequins academy for 2017–18 season". Harlequins F.C. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Harlequins announce squad for Singha Premiership Rugby 7s". Harlequins F.C. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Harlequins progress to Singha 7s quarter finals". Harlequins F.C. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  13. ^ "Extra time heartbreak for Harlequins in Singha 7s Semi-final". Harlequins F.C. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  14. ^ Lawton, Andrew (17 September 2017). "Match reaction: Wasps 21 Harlequins 24". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  15. ^ Pilnick, Brent (26 June 2021). "Premiership final: Exeter Chiefs 38-40 Harlequins - Louis Lynagh's late double clinches title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  16. ^ Kitson, Robert (4 March 2023). "Marcus Smith orchestrates Harlequins' Big Game demolition of Exeter". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Racing 92 28-31 Harlequins: Marcus Smith steers Quins to superb Investec Champions Cup win in Paris". BBC Sport. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  18. ^ "MATCH REPORT: HARLEQUINS SECURE QUARTER-FINAL SPOT". Harlequins. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Investec Champions Cup: Bordeaux 41-42 Harlequins - Quins win thriller to reach semi-finals". BBC Sport. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  20. ^ "MARCUS SMITH NOMINATED FOR INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Harlequins. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  21. ^ "England Under 16 emerge victorious over Wales". Harlequins F.C. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  22. ^ Miller, Jack (24 February 2017). "England under-20 secure impressive bonus-point win over Italy". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  23. ^ "England U18 secure impressive victory over Ireland". Premiership Rugby. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  24. ^ Legg, Mike (17 May 2017). "England star George Ford tips Brighton youngster for big future". The Argus. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  25. ^ a b Morgan, Charlie (22 September 2017). "Who is Marcus Smith and why is everyone, including Eddie Jones, so excited about him?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  26. ^ a b Ormiston, Simon (3 August 2017). "Marcus Smith called up to England rugby squad". Sky Sports. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  27. ^ Jones, Chris (22 September 2017). "England: Four Lions players left out as Marcus Smith named in training squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Autumn internationals: James Haskell left out of England squad". BBC Sport. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  29. ^ Jones, Chris (18 January 2018). "Six Nations 2018: England name eight uncapped players in squad for Italy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  30. ^ "2018 World Rugby U20 Championship squad". BBC Sport. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  31. ^ "Under-20s World Rugby Championship: England beat Argentina in opener". The Daily Telegraph. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  32. ^ Legg, Mike (3 June 2018). "Marcus Smith sparkles in England U20 win". The Argus. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  33. ^ "World Rugby U20 Championship: England 32-31 South Africa". BBC Sport. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  34. ^ "World Rugby U20 Championship: England lose out to France in final". BBC Sport. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  35. ^ Morgan, Charlie (31 May 2019). "England's Marcus Smith turned down Under-20 World Championship to face Barbarians". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  36. ^ "England enjoy double over Barbarians as men's XV follow up Red Roses' victory". BBC Sport. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  37. ^ Meagher, Gerard (2 June 2019). "England young guns Dombrandt and Smith shine in defeat of Barbarians". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  38. ^ Grey, Becky (4 July 2021). "England 43-29 United States". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  39. ^ Purewal, Nick (10 July 2021). "Marcus Smith pilots England to win over Canada before winning Lions call-up". The Independent. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  40. ^ "England Men's Head Coach Steve Borthwick has confirmed his official 33-player squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France". England Rugby. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  41. ^ "England Vs Fiji". BBC.co.uk/sport. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  42. ^ "ARG 23-26 ENG: England claim third place with hard-fought win". Rugby World Cup 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  43. ^ Schofield, Daniel (29 January 2024). "Marcus Smith on crutches and taken for scan in major Six Nations injury scare". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  44. ^ "England 23-22 Ireland: Marcus Smith's last-gasp drop-goal hands England thrilling win". BBC. 9 March 2024.
  45. ^ Mann, Mantej (16 March 2024). "France 33-31 England: Thomas Ramos kicks late penalty as hosts finish second". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  46. ^ "Japan 17-52 England: Marcus Smith shines in eight-try victory over Eddie Jones' Brave Blossoms in Tokyo". Sky. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  47. ^ "Borthwick names squad for Autumn Nations Series". England Rugby. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  48. ^ "England: Steve Borthwick names 17 players to receive new RFU deals". BBC Sport. 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  49. ^ "British and Irish Lions: Marcus Smith called up after Finn Russell Achilles problem". BBC Sport. 10 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  50. ^ Grey, Becky (17 July 2021). "Stormers 3-49 British and Irish Lions: Tourists complete Test preparations with comfortable win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  51. ^ "Marcus Smith". 7 July 2019.
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