"Outstanding" - Marcus Smith backed for strong Six Nations campaign by Harlequins coach Jason Gilmore - Ruck
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“Outstanding” – Marcus Smith backed for strong Six Nations campaign by Harlequins coach Jason Gilmore

21 January 2026
Tom Sansom

By Connor Johnson

With the 2026 Six Nations on the horizon, one name certain to be in the England conversation is Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith. He has not only impressed senior coach Jason Gilmore with what he is producing on the pitch, but also with how he conducts himself around teammates, regularly offering advice on how they can improve their own games alongside his own.

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Smith has been one of the standout figures this season in a struggling Harlequins side that now looks to have turned a corner. Quins have begun to build some momentum in the Champions Cup — something they will hope to carry into the remainder of their Premiership campaign.

The London club currently sit eighth in the table, having won just two of their nine league matches so far. However, the men who don the famous quarters have impressed in Europe, as they dumped out former champions La Rochelle, with Smith among those to catch the eye.

Although Smith is only 26 years old, he is regarded as one of the senior figures within the Quins squad, alongside players such as Joe Launchbury and Stephan Lewies. He has taken on a mentoring role, offering guidance to younger players who may not yet have experienced the same pressures at the top level. Gilmore praised Smith for ‘playing understated’ during the side’s away victory in France, highlighting how his game has matured under his leadership.

“He’s been outstanding. He carries a big profile; he carries a lot of expectation. He’s still a relatively young man, as a 10 at 25, 26 expectation on him each week to perform his huge, and the one thing that (Marcus) Smithy does is he prepares well.

“He’s a humble, hard-working young man, and he cares for the club, and I think for the last couple of weeks in particular, you’ve seen I mentioned last week, he’s played really understated the last couple of weeks, he’s really driven the team around the field, he’s picked moments when to run. I think he’s got really good balance with his run, pass, and kick at the moment, so I’m sure he’ll finish this block off well and then the Six Nations in good form.”

“I think he’s been well aware of it, like you know obviously from England that would be the feedback you know about any 10 their game management the aspect that they need to develop, and he’s not there yet like a good 10 won’t hit his peak until he’s 28, 29.

“You look at a Finn Russell he’s probably developed that when he was approaching 30 and he’s probably the leading guy in the world at the moment with that. You know it’s something in his game that he’s aware of. He works really closely with Nick Evans in and around that game management obviously, so but I definitely think it’s improved really well this year.”

Smith will be hoping his recent performances have done enough to force his way into Scott Borthwick’s starting XV for England’s Six Nations opener against Wales on February 7. He could feature at fly-half — where he has impressed for Gilmore’s side this season — although he faces strong competition from Northampton’s Fin Smith and Sale’s George Ford. Alternatively, he could be deployed at fullback, which has been his role in recent England appearances.

Another member of the Harlequins squad to be impressed by Smith’s attitude this season is young centre Bryn Bradley. Recently returned from a quad injury that sidelined him for six to eight weeks, Bradley explained how Smith’s presence helped ease his reintegration into the squad.

“He sort of brought me under his wing and sort of gave me confidence that if I just do my job, that’s going to help him and the team.”

Both Gilmore and Bradley were speaking at Harlequins’ training ground in Guildford ahead of Saturday afternoon’s Premiership clash against Leicester. It will be Quins’ final match before players depart for international duty in the Six Nations and the next block of the Premiership Rugby Cup.

“When the two sides last met, Harlequins surrendered a 19-point lead before conceding 29 unanswered points. Gilmore said he hopes lessons have been learned should a similar situation arise at the Stoop this weekend.

“We’re obviously disappointed with Leicester in the first round. We thought we put in a pretty good shift there. You know, leading 19 nil at 65 minutes, we’d set the game up to finish off, so that’s kind of set in our stomach a little bit. So look, we’re really excited to rip in this weekend.”

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