Five takeaways as Marcus Smith stars in clutch win : PlanetRugby

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.

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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, 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.

Smith 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 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 Smith skipped past three defenders and cruised…