Harlequins player ratings: No Danny Care or Joe Marler, no problem as inexperienced stand-ins produce ‘incredible efforts’

Will Porter in action for Harlequins in 2023/24.
Following a stunning 42-41 victory over Bordeaux-Begles in their Champions Cup clash at the Stade Chaban-Delmas on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Harlequins.
Harlequins player ratings
15 Tyrone Green: Brilliant under the high ball and on counter-attack as the South African produced an absolutely superb display. 9
14 Louis Lynagh: Won’t be happy with his error for Madosh Tambwe’s first try, but made up for it with the run and off-load for Green’s winner. 7
13 Oscar Beard: Combined well with Andre Esterhuizen and did not take a step backwards in contact. Is a real talent and showed here that he can compete at this level. 7
12 Andre Esterhuizen: Physical in both attack and defence, giving them a much-needed presence in the midfield against the big Bordeaux centre duo. 7
11 Cadan Murley: His surging run led to Will Porter’s second score, but he was generally well contained otherwise. Racked up the metres without truly breaking free from the hosts’ rearguard. 7
Outstanding half-backs
10 Marcus Smith: Kicked everything off the tee and took the right options throughout. His 50-22 after Bordeaux had gone ahead was also key as it switched the momentum back in Quins’ favour. 8
9 Will Porter: Some performance from the scrum-half, who stood in brilliantly for Danny Care. Two tries, excellent service throughout and his kicking was accurate. Incredible effort. 9
8 Alex Dombrandt: His brilliant run and off-load set up Porter’s second try, while there were a couple of other significant carries. Dombrandt has also improved defensively and his 13 tackles was second only to Will Evans. 8
7 Will Evans: The openside simply has to be in the England squad on the evidence of this display. Three turnovers in the early exchanges got Quins going and the hosts could never rest while Evans was around at the breakdown. 8
Physicality
6 Chandler Cunningham-South: Saracens wilted physically last weekend but Cunningham-South set the tone early on here. His big carries sent the UBB defence into reverse and gave a platform for the visitors. Not as busy as his back-row colleagues, but his impacts were significant. 8
5 Stephan Lewies (c): Ran the lineout excellently, especially considering they didn’t have a huge amount of lifting options in that pack. His captaincy was also superb throughout. 8
4 Irne Herbst: A big shift from the lock, who came in late for Joe Launchbury and did a fine job. Lasted an hour and never took a step back. 7
Scrum dominance
3 Will Collier: An incredible servant for Quins who pretty much produced one of his finest displays. Outstanding in the scrum as he consistently shoved the Bordeaux scrum backwards. 8
2 Jack Walker: Solid in pretty much every facet, showing up well in both the loose and the tight. 7
1 Fin Baxter: Fantastic performance from the youngster against the gargantuan Ben Tameifuna. Scrummaged superbly and also showed some deft touches in the loose. 9
Replacements: They just don’t have the same depth as the French powerhouse and it showed. Quins’ bench were manful and ultimately they did just enough to win, but there was a drop-off with most of the bench. 4
READ MORE: Harlequins win 83-point thriller at Bordeaux-Begles in history-making Champions Cup win