I CAN’T BE A BIGHEAD, MY BROTHERS WOULD GIVE ME HELL!
Quins prodigy Marcus Smith on his life in the spotlight...
HERE’S some good news about the Harlequins prodigy Marcus Smith. If there is such a thing as second- season syndrome, he’s come through it. And if anyone feared all the hype would go to his head, it hasn’t.
The 20-year-old fly-half has had to contend with a sky-high profile from the start of his senior career.
His talent was spotted by Eddie Jones while still at Brighton College and he was fast- tracked into England training squads as a callow teenage ‘apprentice’.
Such instant recognition could have been a curse, as well as a blessing, but Smith has taken it in his stride and avoided the bright lights of star status.
Quins head coach and former England defence guru Paul Gustard says: ‘He’s humble and he’s not desperate for fame. He’s not craving to be on a red carpet somewhere. He’s desperate to win matches, he’s desperate to do well for Quins and he’s desperate to be the England fly-half.
‘It’s going to draw attention when an 18-year-old kid is brought into the England squad. Like we saw before with Paul Sampson, with Danny Cipriani and with Mathew Tait. They all got a lot of f attention early. It has happened to Marcus, too, but he is very grounded, with good family.’
Younger brothers, Thomas and Luc, provide a counter-weight to the acclaim which has greeted his emergence as a playmaker with a repertoire of attacking gifts.
Smith says: ‘It’s a pretty cool experience, to have people recognise you. The main people who have kept me down to earth are my brothers.
‘ They are always cheeky with me and are my biggest critics.
‘Whenever I come off the pitch, I’ll check my phone and see a text from my youngest brother saying, “Marcus, that’s unacceptable!”
‘Having them there pushing me, telling me what’s what and taking the p*** out of me — that keeps me normal. It’s about not reading too much into it (the hype), trying
to keep improving and then having the odd kick in the teeth from your brothers, I guess!’ Smith’s first campaign ended last spring with a deluge of awards. Months earlier, he had been on the shortlist to be the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year. He was involved with England and was tipped as a candidate for a World Cup place. He was on a roll, but was warned to expect harder times and, sure enough, they came in the autumn. ‘I was always told there would be bumps along the way,’ says Smith. ‘I had a wake-up call this season.
‘There were a few games early on when I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t running and that is my point of difference. Guzzie being harsh on me and telling me what’s what has pushed me forward. It has been tough this season. Everyone was telling me about second- season syndrome and I tried to ignore that. I’ve worked on a few things.
‘Defence and game-management have been my two priorities and I’m pretty happy with where I am at the moment.’
In pre-season, Gustard told him: ‘Let’s dispel this idea of a secondseason syndrome.’ Yet, that is the way it panned out, a comedown after the highs of 2017-18.
‘There have been growing pains this season, it hasn’t all been sunshine and smiles,’ says Gustard. ‘We’ve had tough conversations when we’ve needed to. Sometimes his defence has been really poor. Sometimes his management hasn’t been good enough.
‘Sometimes there have been too many mistakes, but it’s all growth for Marcus.’
Last Saturday, there was proof he had heeded all the feedback and criticism. Quins narrowly lost a European Challenge Cup semi-final at Clermont, but the young fly-half gave a glimpse of his remarkable potential.
Gustard says: ‘Marcus is still a kid and to lead the team from No 10, in a place like that, and do some of the things he did — it was as good a performance from a fly-half as I’ve seen in 12 years as a coach. He was controlled. He was measured. He was electric.
‘We saw a load of things that we’ve seen from some of the best fly-halves who have come through in this country — and beyond.’
Smith was born in Manila — capital of the Philippines — moved to Singapore and then Brighton.
He retains links in south- east Asia and treasures them, as well as the memories of how he learned the game far from these shores — and this climate.
‘I love having those connections,’ says Smith, whose English name belies his exotic heritage. ‘I’ll never forget playing rugby down there, where it was sunny and I’d play barefoot. It was great fun.’
This afternoon, with one of his former coaches from Singapore in attendance at Sandy Park, Smith will line up against Exeter, hoping to advance Quins’ play-off ambitions and demonstrate that he has been learning on the field as well as off it.
If he can build on his tour de force against Clermont, the notions of second- season syndrome and the hype going to his head will appear even more foolish.