I play my best when I do what I want to do – Zach
ZACH Mercer certainly knows how to write a script. The Gloucester Rugby number eight, overlooked by England for the Six Nations and then by England A last week, put on a staggering display to inspire the Cherry & Whites to a 17-14 victory over Exeter Chiefs in the semi-final of the Premiership Rugby Cup at the weekend.
Mercer, who just two seasons ago was voted the French Top 14 player of the season, was the standout performer at Kingsholm.
The gulf in quality and impact between Mercer and Chiefs’ Greg Fisilau – someone who did get an England A call to face Portugal – was vast in the first half as three-cap international Mercer – who in part returned to the UK to chase further Red Rose honours – played a sizeable hand in all three of the Cherry & Whites’ first-half scores.
The highlight came as Mercer burst out of his own 22 and ran 40 metres before threading a perfect side-footed grubber kick through for winger Josh Hathaway to gather on the bounce and finish.
A fluke? Certainly not. Mercer did much the same in the French Top 14 final a couple of years ago, and pulled off a similar move in training this week. Think outside the box, dream bigger about what a player with number eight on the back of their shirt can do, something Wales stalwart Taulupe Faletau taught him during their years together at Bath.
On Saturday, helping to set up a showdown with Leicester in the final next month, Mercer also broke the line before setting Lewis Ludlow away for a try and then, playing at scrum-half, made the decision to get the ball out to the backs for Max Llewellyn to cross the whitewash moments later. It was a golden 40 minutes of rugby where every decision was right, every offload stuck, and every step bamboozled panicked defenders.
Speaking after the game, Mercer said: “I have kind of been in the shadows a bit since I came here and I wanted to step up today.
“I got the shackles off. I wanted to go out there and show the fans what I am about.
“When I say step out the shadows, I mean playing with no pressure, not playing the game people want me to.
“I play my best rugby when I can do what I want to do. I am in a kind of a system, but I am backed here to go out there and have a bit of fun.
“It has taken a while for me to get there with a couple of injuries and probably confidence has been quite low, but I seem to be back up there now. I seem to be in a good place.”
Discussing his latest England snub, having been brought into camp in the summer to train with the national side ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup only to be sent home surprisingly early, Mercer said: “I had no communication regarding that, it was just how I wanted to go out and play rugby. I have been very vocal on what I think of the situation and, obviously, it is not ideal.
“At the moment my focus is on Gloucester and I just want to focus on playing here and it shows in my rugby when I just focus on one thing.
“My focus is on Gloucester. If it (England call) ever happens then it happens, but my focus is here.”
One misconception Mercer did rule out is that he is on Scotland’s radar. He said: “I don’t qualify for Scotland – everyone says I qualify, but I don’t.
“The only other (international) team I qualify for is New Zealand, so unless I fancy moving to Dunedin or Christchurch, I don’t think my missus would be too happy with that right now, but who knows what could happen in the future.
He added: “I grew up in Scotland, my dad coached Glasgow Warriors for years, from eight I went to school in Scotland, and got picked up by Bath when I was playing in Edinburgh.”
Gloucester rugby director George Skivington will lead England A this week but has not been involved in selection – England head coach Steve Borthwick picked the squad – believes Mercer will get his chance with England again.
He said: “I don’t think the England team is cemented in place. If he plays like that every week it is going to be hard to avoid him. There are areas he has been told to work on and he is working really hard.”