Harlequins v Glasgow: Five takeaways as ‘marvellous’ Marcus Smith inspires famous Champions Cup win over wasteful Warriors
Harlequins' Marcus Smith celebrates scoring their side's second try of the game.
Following Harlequins’ 28-24 victory over Glasgow Warriors in the Investec Champions Cup last-16, here are five takeaways from the thriller at the Twickenham Stoop.
Top line
Never before had these two sides met in a competitive fixture as Glasgow Warriors headed to the Stoop off the back of five straight wins to tackle a Harlequins side struggling for consistency.
With both teams renowned for their attacking prowess, this was primed to be a blockbuster start the weekend’s Investec Champions Cup round of 16 fixtures and in many ways it delivered.
The Warriors came flying out the blocks, and after a stellar 15-phase attack, they were seven points up after just three minutes.
Harlequins responded with Marcus Smith bossing proceedings, scoring a try and assisting two to give his side a 21-7 advantage at the break.
But again, the Warriors were lethal from the restart and fell back on their old reliable try machine, the rolling maul and Johnny Matthews, and were quickly in the lead once again, scoring 17 unanswered points setting up a nail-biting finish.
With both sides looking for the hammer blow, it was Sam Riley who delivered it, touching down with five minutes to play as Harlequins secured their place in the quarter-finals, their first-ever knockout stage win in the competition.
Marcus Smith shines as Harlequins win Champions Cup thriller against Glasgow Warriors
Magical Marcus Smith
After Glasgow Warriors shot into the lead with a fantastic flowing attack going over 15 phases to silence the home fans, Marcus Smith went to work in orchestrating a comeback for the Famous Quarters.
Franco Smith’s charges clearly identified the threat that he poses and attempted to keep him on the floor as much as possible committing to the tackle, even if it was a bit late, and shut down his options by shooting up on him as quickly as possible, however those two tactics backfired for Quins’ first two tries.
The English fly-half bounced back to his feet and got a good look at Glasgow’s defensive spread, and just two phases later, he dropped an inch-perfect crosskick into the corner for Andre Esterhuizen to pounce on.
🤌 @MarcuSmith10 unlocking defences with that right boot 🔓#HARvGLA #InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/jnPV9DPtEr
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) April 5, 2024
Glasgow were relentless defensively, but they were constantly on the wrong end of referee Tual Trainini’s whistle and regularly gave Quins entry back into their 22 through penalties. Harlequins’ set-piece was certainly shaky at best, more on that later, but when they did get it right, Sione Tuipulotu shot out of line too quickly and was sent to take a breather after a plethora of penalties against his side. Before his sin-binning, Tuipulotu was keeping Marcus Smith at bay and limiting his and Esterhuizen’s influence, but with him off, the Glasgow back-row needed to make up for his absence and fill up the space but they over tracked as the hosts’ fly-half skipped past three defenders and cruised over the line.
The jink 🕺
The juggle 🤹@MarcuSmith10 is showcasing his skills out there 👏#HARvGLA #InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/AK56ei5jUz
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) April 5, 2024
With his tail well and truly up at this stage and Quins attacking with a bit more bite and determination, Marcus Smith put the ball on a platter for Cadan Murley – who wasted his first try-scoring opportunity with the rookie error of lunging for the line with the ball in the wrong hand – after running a wonderful arch to beat George Horne and create a simple two-on-one.
It was a magical period of play from the playmaker, but in the second half, he was starved of opportunities and possession.
Glasgow’s two in two
After replying to Glasgow’s fast start, Quins were slow out the blocks in the second half and the visitors made the most of it. They kept the pressure on, playing in the right areas of the pitch and were competitive in the set-pieces.
Again, Harlequins’ set-piece let them down, allowing Glasgow to unleash one of their most lethal weapons, their rolling maul and they did not pass up that chance.
No team in European competitions has scored more tries from the maul than the Scottish side, and when Matthews collected the ball at the back of the drive, it was almost a foregone conclusion as Rory Darge and co. paved his route to the try-line.
That score breathed life back into the Warriors’ team, which started playing more confidently. Just two minutes later, they were in again as Horne rounded off a stunning team score with replacement wing Jamie Dobie, normally a scrum-half, sublimely sending Kyle Steyn charging down the flank.
It was a stunning comeback to square up the scores, and it wasn’t long until they were in front, thanks to Horne’s boot.
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Lineout woes into success
The lineout is the richest source of tries in professional rugby, but today Harlequins showed that it can be a source of your undoing as well.
The set-piece was uncharacteristically poor for the Famous Quarters against Glasgow, as they were lethargic in getting up in the air on their own ball and on the Warriors’. They failed to win their own ball on six occasions, and several of those were at crucial times and put unnecessary pressure on themselves.
In fact, Matthews’ try came after an error from the Quins’ set-piece, and in the latter stages of the game, a poor throw from Riley gifted the Warriors another attacking position from which Esterhuizen eventually saved them.
Starting hooker Jack Walker was snubbed by Steve Borthwick for the Six Nations this year, and while he continues to be a tremendously busy player around the pitch, his set-pieces are clearly the reason why he is being overlooked.
Ironically, it was the lineout that produced the match-winning play for Quins as Riley put his poor throw earlier in the game behind him as he hit his target and was rewarded with a first Champions Cup try.
But if Quins have any hope of progressing past next week’s quarter-final where they will face London rivals Saracens – who thrashed the Famous Quarters 52-7 a fortnight ago – or Bordeaux away from home, they will need to get their set-piece right because those teams will not waste the opportunities that Glasgow did.
BMT players get Harlequins over the line
Harlequins needed something special to clinch a result, and it comes as no surprise that the star men rose to the occasion, namely Marcus Smith and powerhouse centre Esterhuizen. The pair were a driving force in everything Harlequins did well in the first half, and when they were down 24-21 defending in their own 22, Esterhuizen got them out of trouble with a fantastic pilfer over the ball.
That penalty got Harlequins back up the pitch, and when Glasgow was expecting another attack, Marcus Smith caught them off guard with a high bomb, resulting in a scrum in Glasgow’s 22, going from 22 to 22 with intelligent play, excellent skill and accuracy. A scrum penalty followed, and after getting the lineout right and Riley powering over, Smith crucially slotted the conversion to push the lead outside of a penalty or drop goal, allowing Quins to really attack the breakdown in the final moments of the game.
The star names certainly earned their big pay cheques tonight, flexing their big match temperament to secure the win for Quins and route into the quarter-finals.
Will they be able to back up this performance against the might of Saracens or Bordeaux? We will have to wait and see.
As for Glasgow, Franco Smith’s side will rue their missed opportunities and while they will be incredibly disappointed that their Champions Cup journey ended in the last-16 they will take many positives from their determination to get back into the game and into a position to claim a win.
It’s just a second defeat from seven in 2024, and now they will turn their attention fully to a run for the URC title, something that is well within their reach.
