Marcus Smith removed from position amid injury crisis

Marcus Smith will not be running his traditional number 10 role for Harlequins this weekend, instead, he will watch from behind in a position he’s only normally employed in for England.

As Marcus and his teammates head up to Franklins Gardens on Friday evening, head coach Danny Wilson will hope that his injury-stricken squad will have the goods to compete with the current Gallagher Premiership champions, Northampton.

The injury list for Harlequins is rather extensive, with Cassius Cleaves, Luke Northmore, Leigh Halfpenny, Tyrone Green, Cadan Murley, Joe Marler, James Chisholm, Alex Dombrandt and George Head all currently unavailable. With this in mind, the matchday backline needed serious reshuffling.

Danny Care has stepped back into the starting team to provide some vital experience, joining a halfback pairing with Wales’ Jarrod Evans, while Marcus Smith steps back to provide cover at fullback.

Smith only very rarely takes his place at the back of the field, with Harlequins having cemented the young star as their number one fly-half many years ago.

Smith’s versatility has, however, been implemented and tested in the international arena on more than one occasion. Often England coach Steve Borthwick has elected to use Smith’s abilities with ball in hand to his advantage, providing the second playmaker role to George Ford.

Although questions remain about Smith’s defence capabilities at the highest level, there can be no doubt about his tenacity in the tackle area. Just last week the 25-year-old thundered an opponent in the touchline with a mammoth hit, showing that despite his size, he can hit just as hard as those larger than him.

Is that SHOT of the weekend?!

Marcus Smith with a monster hit at the death 💥#GallagherPrem | #HARvNEW pic.twitter.com/z6DqNaDa2W

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) September 28, 2024

Smith will be under constant supervision from Northampton players throughout the match on Friday, especially considering the extra space he will have in the backfield. It’s not necessarily the position he would choose to play, but instead of it being a Quins’ weak spot, the positional change could well end up providing an extra chamber to shoot from.

Harlequins Starting XV:

1. Fin Baxter

2. Jack Walker

3. Titi Lamositele

4. Irne Herbst

5. Stephan Lewies (c)

6. Jack Kenningham

7. Will Evans

8. Chandler Cunningham-South

9. Danny Care

10. Jarrod Evans

11. Oscar Beard

12. Lennox Anyanwu

13. Will Joseph

14. Nick David

15. Marcus Smith

Impact Players:

16. Nathan Jibulu

17. Jordan Els

18. Simon Kerrod

19. Dino Lamb

20. James Chisholm

21. Will Porter

22. Bryn Bradley

23. Cameron Anderson

Northampton Starting XV:

15 George Furbank (c)

14 Tommy Freeman

13 Fraser Dingwall – 100th Premiership appearance

12 Rory Hutchinson

11 Ollie Sleightholme

10 Fin Smith

9 Tom James

1 Emmanuel Iyogun

2 Curtis Langdon

3 Trevor Davison

4 Chunya Munga

5 Alex Coles

6 Josh Kemeny

7 Tom Pearson

8 Sam Graham

Replacements:

16 Robbie Smith

17 Tom West

18 Luke Green

19 Temo Mayanavanua

20 Henry Pollock

21 Archie McParland

22 Tom Seabrook

23 James Ramm