Harlequins v Gloucester: Five takeaways as ‘burden lifted’ from Marcus Smith to provide ‘catastrophic hit’ on Cherry and Whites’ play-off hopes
Marcus Smith and Cadan Murley in action for Harlequins against Gloucester in the Premiership.
Following a 38-19 victory for Harlequins over Gloucester, here are our five takeaways from the Premiership clash at Twickenham on Saturday.
The top line
It was quite the time for Gloucester to produce an absolutely abject display as their play-off hopes suffered a potentially catastrophic hit at the home of English rugby.
The Cherry and Whites went into the game very much in the top-four race but, by the end of the 80 minutes, those hopes were likely extinguished as they conceded six tries to a Harlequins side that were merely playing for pride.
Cadan Murley touched down for three of them while opposite wing Rodrigo Isgro crossed for a brace as the back three – with Tyrone Green equally outstanding – ripped through the Gloucester defence.
The damage was predominantly done in the first period as the hosts took advantage of their opponents’ lethargy, going 28-7 in front at the break through Murley, who went over twice, Will Evans and Isgro.
Those wings then added one more apiece in the second half to rubberstamp the win and damage – probably irreversibly – the away side’s title ambitions. The Cherry and Whites did go over three times themselves through Christian Wade, Santiago Carreras and youngster Jack Cotgreave but the try bonus-point, which they did not deserve, was rightly not forthcoming.
Marcus Smith watch
Over the past few months, it has felt like the weight of the world has been on his shoulders. Not trusted by England head coach Steve Borthwick to start at fly-half and playing in a struggling Harlequins team, Smith’s form has unsurprisingly dipped in 2025.
Leading into Thursday’s British and Irish Lions announcement, it appeared as though the playmaker’s position in the squad – a certainty not so long ago – was under threat. However, Andy Farrell understands the sheer talent the 26-year-old possesses, as well as the versatility he now offers, and duly rewarded his 2024 performances.
It is probably not a coincidence then that, after being placed among that special 38-man group, the shackles were released and he produced his best display for quite some time. It wasn’t a flashy effort but the fundamentals were in place and his decision-making made it easy for those around him. The burden which may have constrained him over recent times was lifted and the England star was accurate in everything that he did.
The two sides of Tyrone
We’ve all been there Tyrone. Akin to Freddie Burns in a Bath v Toulouse clash in 2018, where the fly-half celebrated before losing control of the ball over the line, Green’s overconfidence was similarly the undoing of him.
After Quins had put together a free-flowing attack, allowing the speedster to race clear, he was already thinking about the adulation. The tongue was out, the fans were off their seats and his team were set to go 14-0 in front, but Green failed to do the crucial final act and the ball duly slipped out of his hands.
A few minutes later, and perhaps still thinking about that embarrassment, an errant pass almost resulted in Gloucester scampering away, but thankfully for Quins he recovered. And in some fashion. The full-back certainly made up for committing rugby’s cardinal sin and was absolutely magnificent for the rest of the contest.
The Cherry and Whites could not handle the fleet-footed South African, who made breaks, beat numerous defenders and assisted Isgro’s try in the first half. Green then could have bagged one himself after the interval but unselfishly handed it over for Murley to complete his hat-trick. It was certainly an action-filled evening for the full-back.
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What was that, Gloucester?
Head coach George Skivington and his charges will certainly be asking that question in the review on Monday. With a play-off place in sight, knowing that a victory would take them into the top-four ahead of two very winnable matches, they produced one of their worst performances of the season.
It is the part of the campaign where every result is significant and, following this defeat, it will make it incredibly difficult for them to be in the end-of-season shake-up. Against a struggling Quins side, many fancied them to do the job at Twickenham, but they were quite frankly abysmal.
It is difficult to quite pinpoint where it went wrong as everything seemed to be below the required standard from the visitors. Most concerning of all was just the sheer lack of energy in the opening period as they were overwhelmed by a team with little to play for. Gloucester have improved in 2024/25 but, at the moment, they simply don’t have the mentality to be a title challenger.
Hunting in packs
While Gloucester were not there emotionally, on a technical level they were also outclassed. A lot of that was down to Quins’ breakdown work with poachers supreme Evans and Jack Kenningham consistently spoiling the Cherry and Whites’ ball, often working together in tandem.
It is one of the few areas of the game which has worked well for the Londoners this season and those two were utterly irrepressible on Saturday. They were of course helped by the looseness of Gloucester’s play, but Evans and Kenningham deserved immense credit for how they went about their business.
In another era, the former would have had a plethora of England caps but a combination of injuries and the sheer amount of competition has prevented him from getting an opportunity at Test level. Kenningham is slightly younger, however, and with Henry Pollock, Ben Earl and Tom Curry away with the Lions, it would not be a surprise to see him involved against Argentina in July.