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#Post#: 157431--------------------------------------------------
Re: Inside the Harlequins revamp: From 'chasing points' to
emulating Toulouse, how the man who made new All Blacks fly-h
DIR By: Scooter
Date: September 11, 2026, 7:41 am
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--- Quote from: Banstead Quin link ---
>
> Are you secretly becoming a Saints' fan, Yareet??? 😁
>
> Fin Smith is a good player, no doubt, but he doesn't terrify
defences like Marcus. You see them screaming at each other to
get 2 or 3 defenders near him as with Fin & Ford/Faz, they trust
a 1 on 1. A tactic that England or Quins post 2021 haven't made
enough of.
>
--- End Quote ---
Difficult to take Marcus seriously when he was caught easily by
the 115kg 33 year old Stuart McCloskey despite a 5m head start
and 30min less match time in his legs.
Fin is a better 10 in just about every metric, and that's
without the consideration that he led his team to the Prem title
while Marcus led his to 9th.
#Post#: 157433--------------------------------------------------
Re: Inside the Harlequins revamp: From 'chasing points' to
emulating Toulouse, how the man who made new All Blacks fly-h
DIR By: poorfour
Date: September 11, 2026, 7:55 am
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--- Quote from: Scooter link ---
>
>
> Difficult to take Marcus seriously when he was caught easily
by the 115kg 33 year old Stuart McCloskey despite a 5m head
start and 30min less match time in his legs.
>
> Fin is a better 10 in just about every metric, and that's
without the consideration that he led his team to the Prem title
while Marcus led his to 9th.
>
--- End Quote ---
Why should that be a consideration? Marcus isn't a winger and
his talent is acceleration and change of direction rather than
top speed
Take a look at the clip again. How many England players are
following him? Who is in his line of sight as he looks for the
pass?
I have never understood why he's the one who cops the flak for a
situation in which he created an opportunity that his team mates
utterly failed to support
The issue isn't the speed in Marcus's legs, it's the speed in
the rest of the team's brain cells.
Fin is a better defensive fly half and better at running a
backline 22 to 22, but at international level the attack in the
red zone looks blunt when he doesn't have a second playmaker.
Marcus's value - and I suspect the reason they keep him in the
side in a role that will never be his best position - is that
defenders can't ignore him, and if they manage to cover all the
options he offers, that makes space for others.
Multiple of Fin's try assists have come because the defence were
having to overcommit to tracking Marcus.
#Post#: 157436--------------------------------------------------
Re: Inside the Harlequins revamp: From 'chasing points' to
emulating Toulouse, how the man who made new All Blacks fly-h
DIR By: never sleep
Date: September 11, 2026, 11:24 am
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@pf - feeding trolls is unwise
#Post#: 157438--------------------------------------------------
Re: Inside the Harlequins revamp: From 'chasing points' to
emulating Toulouse, how the man who made new All Blacks fly-h
DIR By: Mayor West
Date: September 11, 2026, 11:57 am
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Englands opposition must prefer Fin at 10 because they know
exactly what’s going to happen whereas Marcus at 10 is far more
difficult to predict as he plays what’s in front of him. Sadly
that’s not the exciting type of rugby Borthwick wants to play.
Which might be why we don’t win much.
#Post#: 157439--------------------------------------------------
Re: Inside the Harlequins revamp: From 'chasing points' to
emulating Toulouse, how the man who made new All Blacks fly-h
DIR By: FrostAndFire
Date: September 11, 2026, 12:00 pm
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Much as I'm a fan of Marcus, it would have been wrong to have
him as starting 10 last season, because he wasn't playing well.
I think it came from Quins playing so badly, which then led to
Marcus trying to solve all the problems on his own, which in
turn meant he wasn't organising a team in the way he should have
been. His performance fell off.
If our new coaches have got the team playing properly and not
panicking whenever they get the ball, he should be able to
rebuild his game quickly and challenge for England. But not
until he can prove that.
#Post#: 157440--------------------------------------------------
Re: Inside the Harlequins revamp: From 'chasing points' to
emulating Toulouse, how the man who made new All Blacks fly-h
DIR By: Rugbycat
Date: September 11, 2026, 12:24 pm
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--- Quote from: never sleep link ---
>
> @pf - feeding trolls is unwise
>
--- End Quote ---
Unless it is too a Tiger.
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