Marcus Smith shines as Harlequins win Champions Cup thriller against Glasgow Warriors
Marcus Smith for Harlequins against Glasgow Warriors.
England star Marcus Smith shone for Harlequins in their 28-24 victory over Glasgow Warriors that books their passage into the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.
Smith starred as Quins built a 21-7 interval lead, the fly-half setting up two tries and running in a dynamic solo score to place his side in full control of the last-16 clash.
But once again an implosion subjected their fans to a white-knuckle ride at the Stoop, having almost let a 37-point lead slip against Bath in the Premiership six days ago.
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Johnny Matthews and George Horne stormed over for Glasgow and when Horne landed a penalty in the 60th minute, the United Rugby Championship’s second-placed side were back in front.
But Harlequins struck through replacement hooker Sam Riley with five minutes to go and man-of-the-match Smith converted to complete another great escape, setting up a last-eight appointment against Saracens or Bordeaux-Begles.
Evidence that it would be a high-scoring match was seen in the third minute when fly-half Tom Jordan danced through the home defence as the prelude to lock Scott Cummings crossing from close range.
Quins’ brittleness had been exposed and while they showed greater intent in a period of sustained attack, on two occasions indiscipline and poor execution allowed Glasgow to escape.
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Play continued at a frantic pace and in one move Glasgow lacked the skills to match their ambition, while Quins butchered a promising move down the right and saw Cadan Murley drop the ball over the line.
But pressure was building on the visitors’ whitewash and it cracked in the 23rd minute when Andre Esterhuizen gathered Smith‘s chip and touched down in the right corner.
Taking advantage of Sione Tuipulotu’s sin-binning for offside, Smith then danced around four tacklers and even had time to recapture the ball after it squirted out of his hands before touching down as Quins attacked from a five-metre scrum.
The jink 🕺
The juggle 🤹@MarcuSmith10 is showcasing his skills out there 👏#HARvGLA #InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/AK56ei5jUz
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) April 5, 2024
And on the stroke of half-time, they ran in a third try – a lineout drive taking them close to the line before Smith’s sharp hands in slippery conditions provided Murley with a simple finish.
Glasgow took control after half-time and were rewarded with a 50th-minute maul try from Matthews and when Horne converted, the deficit no longer looked so ominous.
Two minutes later they were level, Horne finishing a swashbuckling move down the left before improving his own try.
Quins were wobbling – their ability to throw away big leads exposed yet again – and a Horne penalty nudged the Scottish team back in front before Joe Marler was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Rory Darge.
Glasgow pressed for the score that would sweep them out of sight but instead Quins scrambled out of their half and when full-back Josh McKay fumbled in the backfield, they had the opportunity they needed to strike through Riley.
The teams
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Oscar Beard, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Will Evans, 6 Stephan Lewies (c), 5 George Hammond, 4 Irne Herbst, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Fin Baxter
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Will Trenholm, 21 Tom Lawday, 22 Max Green, 23 Cameron Anderson
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Lucio Sordoni, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Duncan Weir
Referee: Tual Trainini (FRA)
Assistant Referees: Ludovic Cayre (FRA), Flavien Hourquet (FRA)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FRA)
