Marcus Smith: The potential Thrilla from Manila

Marcus Smith: The potential Thrilla from Manila

Harlequins 18-year-old fly-half Marcus Smith sent shockwaves through Premiership Rugby last weekend when he was named to start in the No.10 shirt for Harlequins season opener against London Irish at Twickenham.

Smith was born in Manila in the Phillipines and picked up the game at the age of 7 with Centaurs RFC when his family decided to move to Singapore.

The naturally gifted playmaker received a sports scholarship to attend Brighton College where he studied maths, politics and business, while going onto achieve great things on the rugby pitch as he captained the school's 1st XV en route to an unbeaten campaign. 

Marcus joined the Harlequins academy on a full-time basis for 2017/18 season despite being at the club since the age of 13 and made significant progress in a short space of time.

At the beginning of the summer, Smith was invited to take part in a training session with England elite senior squad during a three-day camp held at Brighton College in preparation for their summer tour to Argentina.

Following a few weeks abroad with the England U18 team in South Africa, Eddie Jones once again placed his faith in the promising fly-half as he named in his pre-season squad due to his involvement with the England U20s 2017 Six Nations Grand Slam winning squad.


Yet to feature at senior level, Smith put in a host of dazzling performances in this year's Singha Premiership 7s, including a delightful brace against London Irish helping him to earn plenty of recognition.

On his Premiership debut, the youngster began the game with an air of confidence as he marshalled his back-line with authority and successfully converted his first kick at goal. His 49 minute cameo certainly backed up his lofty reputation. England fans will be keeping a very close on this mercurial talent.

Unfortunately, his dream debut ended abruptly as he was forced off early for a HIA after receiving a colossal hit from Irish centre Aseli Tikoirotuma. 

Welcome to Premiership Rugby Marcus Smith 😳 🚑 #BOOMFA #Harlequins #LondonIrish #PremiershipRugby

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