Marchant giving Harlequins ‘X-factor’

Editor

Two-try Harlequins centre Joe Marchant received plenty of praise from director of rugby John Kingston after Harlequins win over Gloucester.

The 20-year-old U20 World Championship winner with England has formed an impressive partnership with Wales centre Jamie Roberts so far this season and impressed at Twickenham.

Marchant scored a try in either half, showing off his speed for each finish, as Harlequins clung on to make it 28-24.

“Joe has come into the team, put into the squad very early, and we tried to look after him at the start of this season, trying to get the balance of playing him in a few games and then leaving him out,” Kingston explained.

“He has that X-factor.

“We challenged him more funnily enough in the last week or so, telling him we needed to see more from him and reminding that we have good players who are challenging for that slot like Matt Hopper and Alofa Alofa.

“He needs to kick on and he will be delighted he has. He had a big smile on his face. He is willing to learn and listens to everything that is asked of him.

“He is also far from the finished product, but we would be out of a job if they were all finished products…”

Harlequins as a result move into the top six of the Premiership halfway through the season.