Harlequins put Exeter Chiefs to the sword, with a one-sided victory in their Big Game 14 showpiece. Six tries and five conversions from Marcus Smith, put Harlequins out of reach for Exeter Chiefs.
Quins had a bonus point sealed before half-time, with a 26-0 landside marking their dominance at Twickenham Stadium. Smith shone for Quins on his return to his club, and has made a definitive ‘Player of the Match’ statement to Steve Borthwick’s England selections.
Tabai Matson was delighted with Marcus Smith’s performance, and praised the fly half after the match.
“Ultimately, his success at the international level has been underpinned by what he’s done here. The attack system’s nearly built around him, and for him to slot back in and find space, whether it be run, kick or pass just shows you what a rare talent he is.”
“I think that’s the best thing he (Smith) could have done, is play as well as he (Steve Borthwick) wanted him to tonight. He’s done what Steve asked him, and told me, ‘boss a game’, make it really difficult, and he did that, I mean there’s no other way that he can do that.
“And he’s really clear on that, you know the way that they (England) want to win other test matches. Will he be an option this week, Steve knows that. But tonight, he’s put his best foot forward, and he’s shone there’s another way.”
A first half blitz saw Harlequins score four unanswered tries against the Chiefs, with the Twickenham roar defenitly heard at their neighbouring home at the Stoop. Marcus Smith lit up the home of English rugby, despite being recently dropped by Steve Borthwick’s training squad.
Smith took no time in showing what England fans have been missing, as he executed a neat chip over the Chiefs defence, which Andre Esterhuizen gathered. The centre then shipped the ball wide to winger Cadan Murley, who could not be caught by the pursuing Josh Hodge. Smith’s following conversions established a seven point lead. Harlequins’ number 14 began the scoring in Big Game 14, which then started the avalanche of tries for Quins.
After returning from the sin bin, Josh Bassett scored Quins’ second try. ‘Andre the Giant’ with the assist once again, as the centre took the ball into the backs, after a rolling maul was halted in field. Esterhuizen found Bassett on an arching line, and played the winger in at pace. Bassett outmanoeuvred Olly Woodburn, and finished off a well worked move.
Danny Care performed an outrageous piece of skill for Harlequins’ third try. The scrum half picked blind from the back of the ruck, and looked destined to be batted into touch. Yet with a touch of magic, Care executed the most audacious out-the-back offload, and found the supporting line of replacement prop Sam Riley, who caught the ball low and dived to score.
The fourth try wrapped up the first half in typical Quins fashion, as they broke away at pace with Joe Marchant starting and finishing the move. The centre started the move, carrying along the left wing, and passed wide to Nick David. The fullback cut through the retreating Chiefs defenders, and found Bassett, who found Smith, who returned the ball to Marchant for a mesmerising try. ‘The Mighty Quin’ was sung around Twickenham Stadium, as the sides left for half time.
Exeter were quick to respond after the break, and showed slight signs of a Quins style comeback. Five minutes after the break, Exeter scored in classic Chiefs fashion, they counteracted the fast flowing Quins rugby with an old school rolling maul. Replacement hooker Jack Yeandle grounded at the back of the maul, but the angle was too wide for the converting Harvey Skinner, who missed the kick.
The attempted comeback was short-lived, with Marchant again scoring at Twickenham. Reacting first to Danny Care’s grubber kick, the centre dived on the loose ball in the in-goal area to score just before the hour mark. Smith converted once again, with the games’ Man of the Match staking his claim for an England squad re-calling.
Harlequins hit 40 points after 65 minutes, and finished off the Chiefs in typical Exeter style. A try for the traditionalists amongst some unbelievable pieces of running rugby, Harlequins captain Stephan Lewies peeled off the back of the Quins pack, and drove over from close range to score. Smith converted the follow up conversion for the final say of the game.
Marcus Smith certainly had the spotlight, but Joe Marchant also shone with two tries. Tabai Matson highlighted Marchant’s performance in the post match conference.
“Steve (Borthwick) was really complementary on Joe, and clearly we love him. He’s been phenomenal for us, and I don’t say he’s an unsung hero, because he scored two tries and you saw him pop up in the right place at the right time. So, we hope he’s in the mix next week against the French team as well.”
A tough day at the office for Exeter Chiefs, and Ali Hepher recognised the strength that Harlequins brought to Twickenham Stadium. The Chiefs Head Coach spoke after the match:
“You’ve got to give massive credit to them. The speed that they play the game at, the speed of ball they produce, obviously they got a lot of their pace out there, and they got those guys free and running. They were hard to deal with, got to give credit to them. Ultimately, we weren’t at the races where we’d want to be now.
“You can’t be as successful as Quins have been over the last few years without that foundation. Up front their tough to handle, equally they have got that ability and speed elsewhere to open up a game as well, especially if you get those foundations in place.
“We got one try on the back of it, but we didn’t score and convert early on. We had pressure, we kind of lost the ball with the try line at our mercy. If you score that, the whole game changes very quickly. If we stop them at that maul, and they don’t get that runaway try and we’ve scored, it’s all in our favour, and we weren’t really able to manage that when it went against us.”
HARLEQUINS: 40
TRIES: 6 (Murley 11′, Bassett 25′, Riley 30′, Marchant 32′, 58′, Lewies 65′)
CONVERSIONS: 5 (Smith 11′, 25′, 32′, 58′, 65′)
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
15. David 14. Murley 13. Marchant 12. Esterhuizen 11. Bassett 10. Smith 9. Care 1. Marler 2. Head 3. Louw 4. Lamb 5. Lewies 6. Kenningham 7. Chisholm 8. Lawday
16. Riley 17. Baxter 18. Kerrod 19. Herbst 20. Evans 21. Wallace 22. Steele 23. Northmore
EXETER CHIEFS: 5
TRIES: 1 (Yeandle 46′)
CONVERSIONS: 0
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
15. Hodge 14. Nowell 13. Whitten 12. Kata 11. Woodburn 10. Skinner 9. Maunder 1. Sio 2. Innard 3. H. Williams 4. Gray 5. Jenkins 6. Vermulen 7. Tshuinza 8. S Simmonds
16. Yeandle 17. Southworth 18. Street 19. Dunne 20. Ewers 21. Maunder 22. J Simmonds 23. Hendrickson