'He did what Steve asked him' - Matson and Care heap praise on recalled Smith

Marcus Smith looked settled at the home of English rugby as his Harlequins side demolished Exeter 40-5 in Big Game 14 at Twickenham.

Smith played a full 80 minutes and displayed “a masterclass on finding space”, as described by Quins head coach Tabai Matson.

The fly-half was not included in England head coach Steve Borthwick’s 25-player fallow week group for their time in Brighton but has been recalled into the squad for their preparations to face defending Six Nations champions France on 11th March.   

To some, it seemed surprising that Sale Sharks’ George Ford was included over Smith for the fallow week, however, this could prove to be a sensible move from Borthwick as he allowed the 24-year-old to gain some much-needed game time and the opportunity to flourish at fly-half.

Subsequently, it also meant that Ford, who has recently returned from a lengthy Achilles injury that he suffered in last year's premiership final while playing for Leicester Tigers, was brought up to speed with the new-era England squad.

Borthwick made it clear in the week that Smith’s exclusion from the reduced squad was not permanent, and he was expecting to welcome him back into the fold to prepare for Le Crunch.  

“The clear thought to it and the feeling I have for him is that match sharpness, getting in a 10 shirt, boss a game, boss the team and reassemble with us on Sunday afternoon,” Borthwick said at the time of Smith’s omission.

Smith could not have carried out Borthwick’s requests more precisely and was a linchpin in unlocking the attack which provided the team with an impressive six tries

Following conversations Borthwick had with both the fly-half and his club head coach, the latter was impressed with Smith’s performance and stressed that he did all that he could do to secure his reselection.

“I think that's the best thing he could have done is played as well as he wanted tonight, he did what Steve asked him and told me. Boss a game, make it really difficult and he did that, there's no other way he could do that,” Matson said after the game.

“It just shows his sharpness. I think that's one of the things you also want to see, you want to see a player come back and actually be sharp and he did that so he'll make that really difficult. I'm excited, and clearly, we're hopeful that he gets more opportunities, and he will. I'm sure Steve's got a plan,” the head coach added.

From the moment he returned to his club following his 14-second appearance in England’s win against Wales, Smith made it clear what his intentions were for the week.

“I’ve picked up the attack since Snap’s [Nick Evans] been away and what we do from mauls I had a bit of a plan in place and Marcus comes in and says no, we’re going to do this,” Matson explained.

“So that try was his adjustment on Monday, the ball went past him to set up the try. He’s come in and he knows what he needs, and he knows the game well, so that’s probably the first thing the prep you don’t see, but ultimately what you saw tonight was a guy who can find space, not at will be it's very hard to do what he did tonight,” he said while referencing the side’s second try, which went past Smith from centre André Esterhuizen to set up Josh Bassett to score.

For some, spending time away from a club may make it difficult for them to settle back into a team. This isn’t the case for Smith, who slotted back into the side with ease.

As the appearances with those outside him at Quins have racked up over the years, so has their cohesion, making the transition from club to country seem effortless. This is something that has transferred to Smith’s performance, making any worries of him overplaying to prove himself something the head coach hasn’t had to worry about.

Matson said: “I think he's so instrumental here that's not a problem at all, and I think Danny Care makes a big difference, André Esterhuizen makes a big difference.It's very easy to slot into a spine group that you've played I don't know how many games together, probably over 50, with Danny it's probably closer to 100.

"It’s very easy for him to slot back in and he feels at home. Right off the bat, I said earlier about the meetings, he came in and said 'no we need to do this and this' and he changes the menu and clearly you saw the rewards today.”

The benefits of his brief return to his club were not only felt on a personal level for the man who donned the one-off Big Game 14 shirt on Saturday, but the rippling effect of his presence on those around him was a key factor in his team’s success this week.

“To have him around the club this week it just gives everyone such confidence, he’s an unbelievable player and I think the tactical display he showed today was exceptional,” teammate Danny Care said following their Big Game victory.

“He’s in a tough position, the captain in that England team is the 10 annoyingly for him. But testament to his character to how he went out there and played today, he could’ve tried to throw a load of things to show special things, he did his special things and he also did the basics incredibly well I don’t know how many tackles he made but he put his body on the line for the team and put us in the right areas. And then the magic bits that he makes look so easy he just does anyway” the scrum half, who on the day totalled the second highest number of Premiership appearances, added.

Despite the background noise surrounding Smith’s varying levels of involvement with England, he rapidly turned his attention to putting his best foot forward for his beloved Harlequins.

“He was definitely focused and really motivated to get us a win because we needed one. We had lost five in a row in the league and I think we knew that if we didn't win today, our top four hopes are done because we're running out of games,” Care, who himself had an impressive performance for Quins, said.

He had a massive motivation to get the club a win, the club that he loves and you can see that in the way he plays. Over the years I've been playing with him I know one thing, he loves Quins. He loves winning, and when he's on your team you've got a better chance than when he's not. I thought he was brilliant,” he mentioned with pride.