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https://www.quins.co.uk/news/smith-returns-for-quins-as-bristol-travel-to-the-stoop/
THE FLY-HALF WILL COME OFF THE BENCH FOR FRIDAY NIGHT'S MOUTHWATERING CLASH AT HOME TO BRISTOL BEARS
England and British and Irish Lions fly-half Marcus Smith makes a return to Harlequins’ match day 23, with the popular standoff taking up the 22 jersey as Bristol Bears travel to the Twickenham Stoop
Ahead of a titanic clash under the Friday night lights in SW London against playoff rivals Bristol Bears, Harlequins’ coaching group have named an unchanged starting XV to the side that claimed a bonus-point win over Worcester Warriors a fortnight ago.
Fly-half Smith is the sole change to the match day 23 for the Club this week, replacing Scottish international Huw Jones on the bench as Quins opt for consistency for what is set to be a thrilling encounter on Friday evening.
With new stadium entertainment technology set to make Friday nights at The Stoop more thrilling than ever before, the scene is set this week for the rematch of a dramatic semi-final last season as Harlequins completed one of the most thrilling Gallagher Premiership title wins in history.
Previewing the fixture this week, Senior Coach Tabai Matson said: “The last two weeks have allowed us some great preparation time ahead of Friday. We’ve had two great, yet challenging, bonus-point wins to start our campaign.
“The bye-week last week probably came at a good time for us. We had a couple of games and then reset. And we’re excited to get back out there. We’ve had some great sessions this week and we’re now starting a five-game block with a great encounter with Bristol.
“We’ve spoken a bit this week about that semi-final last season. We know that will probably have been a pebble under Bristol’s beach towel over the summer. This is the first time we’ve faced them since that game and we know it’s going to be as important a game for us as it is for them.
“This should be a fantastic encounter with two sides who play a massively positive brand of rugby. It’s an exciting fixture and I know our fans are probably just as eager as we are to see a blockbuster game under the Friday night lights.”
Harlequins Starting XV
1. Joe Marler (227)
2. Jack Walker (2)
3. Simon Kerrod (46)
4. Matt Symons (65)
5. Dino Lamb (50)
6. Tom Lawday (41)
7. Jack Kenningham (14)
8. Alex Dombrandt (78) - Captain
9. Danny Care (308)
10. Tommy Allan (2)
11. Cadan Murley (50)
12. Andre Esterhuizen (21)
13. Joe Marchant (115)
14. Louis Lynagh (15)
15. Tyrone Green (23)
Impact Players
16. Sam Riley (3)
17. Fin Baxter (3)
18. Will Collier (189)
19. Hugh Tizard (15)
20. James Chisholm (113)
21. Scott Steele (17)
22. Marcus Smith (110)
23. Luke Northmore (29)
Unavailable for selection:
Wilco Louw, Viliami Taulani
Unavailable due to injury:
Aaron Morris, Christian Scotland-Williamson, Joe Gray, Jordan Els, Paul Lasike, Stephan Lewies, Will Evans -
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Bristol Bears team to face Harlequins at The Stoop on Friday, October 8th (7.45pm KO):
15. Charles Piutau; 14. Niyi Adeolokun, 13. Piers O’Conor, 12. Sam Bedlow, 11. Henry Purdy; 10. Callum Sheedy, 9. Harry Randall; 1. Yann Thomas, 2. Jake Kerr, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Joe Joyce, 5. Chris Vui, 6. Fitz Harding, 7. Jake Heenan, 8. Steven Luatua (c).
System players: 16. Harry Thacker, 17. Jake Woolmore, 18. Max Lahiff, 19. Ed Holmes, 20. Dan Thomas, 21. Andy Uren, 22. Ioan Lloyd, 23. Alapati Leiua.
Unavailable: Bryan Byrne, John Afoa, Semi Radradra, Siva Naulago, Luke Morahan. -
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Quality lineup.
Not shocked that Smith on the bench. Allan done nothing wrong to be benched.
But my oh my.......what a bench that is :D -
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That's an exciting team with a really good bench. I can see Smith enjoying having a chance to play fresh against a tiring Bristol.
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Quality lineup.
Not shocked that Smith on the bench. Allan done nothing wrong to be benched.
But my oh my.......what a bench that is :D
It certainly is and how refreshing it is to be able to say that. Wouldn't have been the case this time last year! -
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I'm just trying to think when Smith has been benched before. The only other one I can remember is that first Double Header when he came on for the Cat. Any others?
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Congratulations on your 50 point win.
We (Bris) have been shocking and Lam has screwed us with his poor recruitment policy/stubborn loyalty. Our midfield is woeful, Adeolokun is at best a championship player and we have 2 ball carriers (Sinks and Vui). Add to that the most predictable game plan and you have a recipe for disaster.
Just as well there is no relegation this year. We need to cut half our squad. -
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blimey I have never before gone into a game looking at that sort of quality on the bench to bring on and have a great 1st 15 that looks that good. Really looking forward to be back at the stoop.
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Love the look of that team. Can't wait for tomorrow.
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Great team and bench. Smart move starting Tommy at 10 and putting Marcus on the bench.
The persistent injury list is a bit of a concern though. -
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Great team and bench. Smart move starting Tommy at 10 and putting Marcus on the bench.
The persistent injury list is a bit of a concern though.
In what respect? We knew ahead of the season that Evans, Lasike and Els were long term injuries, and we have good cover for them and Morris. CSW would need a while to convert from gridiron so wasn’t expecting to see him play. The only worrying injury is Lewies - I was hoping he’d be back by now. But Dino has really stepped up this season. -
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Cheers thanks for that and for visiting our board.
I always enjoy watching Bristol play. I think you are missing Radrara a lot. But also Luke Morahan, he is such a class winger.
Agree it looks like Lam has been caught on the backfoot this season. Midfield and wing look light.
Here is to a good game of running rugby and hopefully a Quins win.Congratulations on your 50 point win.
We (Bris) have been shocking and Lam has screwed us with his poor recruitment policy/stubborn loyalty. Our midfield is woeful, Adeolokun is at best a championship player and we have 2 ball carriers (Sinks and Vui). Add to that the most predictable game plan and you have a recipe for disaster.
Just as well there is no relegation this year. We need to cut half our squad. -
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Very happy with that side, Allan has played really well so far and makes sense to ease Smith back in - we always want him on the pitch at the end of the game if it's a close one.
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Ref link will be vital tomorrow just to hear Marler wind up Sinkler
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Good team from us. However we cannot be complacent. Bristol still have some excellent operators, Randall and Sheedy as one dangerous partnership to watch out for.
Bristol might of had a poor start but that means they are just another game closer to the one they win. I think we should have the edge in the scrum which to control the game will be vital, and if Bristols line out is like last weeks we should look to exploit that.
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