Harlequins 52-14 Newcastle: Marcus Smith magic tears apart Red Bulls for one-sided victory

Marcus Smith was named man of the match in an influential display that had him create multiple tries from nothing, and Tyrone Green shone with two tries on the occasion of his hundredth Harlequins appearance. Newcastle Red Bulls still hunt for their first victory of this Prem campaign, as they sit at the bottom of the table on zero points after five rounds of action.

Green led out Harlequins to a backdrop of thunderous applause, providing today’s contest with an energetic atmosphere, before Smith had even kicked off. In the opening minutes a lineout move with slick hands from Cadan Murley and Green put Rodrigo Isgro into space, allowing him to jog under the posts, however the try was chalked off for a forward pass by Green.

But the home fans didn’t have to wait long for the opening score, with Green making an excellent linebreak, before the ball was eventually recycled for Luke Northmore, who ran an incisive hard line against the grain to crash over in the tenth minute, with Marcus Smith dutifully converting from just left of the posts.

A Newcastle offside just outside their 22 gifted Quins a penalty which they kicked to the corner, and the ball was recycled from a swift strike move to an onrushing Green, who went over to score their second try of the game. The South West London crowd erupted in applause and cheers, celebrating not just the try, but centurion Green’s contributions to the famous quarters, with Smith adding the extras.

Just five minutes later in a moment of individual brilliance Smith rounded Newcastle centre Max Clark, breaking the line before feeding Will Porter, who slid in to score under the posts. From out in front Smith converted to make the score 21-0.

Quins right wing Isgro chipped ahead, and capitalised on poor Newcastle defence to hack the ball through, before scoring Harlequins’ fourth try. With the bonus point wrapped up before the half hour mark, Smith slotted the conversion from the right touchline.

Despite some entries into Quins’ half, Newcastle lacked precision, and their best chance of the half was brought to a halt by a Will Evans turnover. Harlequins drove up the pitch, with international fly-halves Smith and Jarrod Evans dovetailing impressively at 10 and 12, creating space for Green in Newcastle’s 22, and a strong leg drive over the line earned Green his second try on the stroke of half time. Yet another conversion was nailed by Smith to make the score 35-0, as both sides headed to the changing rooms.

The second half began how the first ended, with Harlequins scoring within just four minutes. Will Evans scored from the back of a rolling maul, a well deserved reward for his work around the breakdown. This time Smith was unable to convert from the touchline.

As both sides began to utilise the bench, Newcastle’s replacements were able to stem the flow of Harlequins tries, albeit briefly. 11 minutes after Will Evans’ try, Smith cut through the Newcastle defence, before passing to Cassius Cleaves who scored Quins’ seventh try of the day. This time from the left touchline Smith added the extras, making the score 47-0.

Harlequins were soon back in Newcastle’s 22, and Scottish international George Turner was able to score their eighth try of the day from the back of a rolling maul, taking his side beyond fifty points. Smith was unable to add the extras, with the score reading 52-0.

As the final five minutes approached both sides looked exhausted, and Ollie Leatherbarrow, who brought some well needed grunt to the Newcastle pack from the bench just minutes earlier, was able to burrow over and prevent his side from being nilled. Connon was able to slot the conversion, with three minutes remaining.

Following some slick play from Leatherbarrow and Clark, McCallum was able to score Newcastle’s second try on the stroke of full time. Connon converted, with the final score reading 52-14.

TRIES: 8 (Northmore 10’, Green 18’ 40’, Porter 23’, Isgro 29’, Evans 44’, Cleaves 55’, Turner 63’)

CONVERSIONS: 6 (Smith 11’ 18’ 24’ 30’ 40’ 56’)

PENALTIES: 0

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 0

RED CARDS: 0

15. Tyrone Green 14. Rodrigo Isgró 13. Luke Northmore 12. Jarrod Evans 11. Cadan Murley (Captain) 10. Marcus Smith 9. Will Porter 1. Fin Baxter 2. Jack Walker 3. Harry Williams 4. Guido Petti Pagadizábal 5. Stephan Lewies 6. Jack Kenningham 7. Will Evans 8. Zach Carr

Replacements: 16. George Turner 17. Boris Wenger 18. Pedro Delgado 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Jonny Green 21. Max Green 22. Jamie Benson 23. Cassius Cleaves

TRIES: 2 (Leatherbarrow 76’, McCallum 80’)

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Connon 77’ 80’)

PENALTIES: 0

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 0

RED CARDS: 0

15. Stefan Coetzee 14. Elliott Obatoyinbo 13. Oli Spencer 12. Max Clark 11. Alex Hearle 10. Brett Connon 9. Simón Benítez Cruz 1. Adam Brocklebank 2. George McGuigan (Captain) 3. Richard Palframan 4. Jamie Hodgson 5. Freddie Clarke 6. Fergus Lee-Warner 7. Tom Gordon 8. Amanaki Mafi

Replacements: 16. Ollie Fletcher 17. Murray McCallum 18. Luan de Bruin 19. Oscar Usher 20. Freddie Lockwood 21. James Elliott 22. Ollie Leatherbarrow 23. Nathan Greenwood

From being one of England’s most potent attacking weapons last autumn at fly-half, to his switch to full-back in the Six Nations, to not starting a single Lions game in Australia, it’s safe to say Marcus Smith has had a strange 12 months. There may be question marks over where his best position is at international level, but today he was simply peerless on the pitch.

He orchestrated today’s victory, executing his running, passing and kicking game superbly, bringing his teammates into the game, and delegating playmaking duties with Jarrod Evans and Jamie Benson intelligently. His individual runs for Porter’s and Cleaves’ tries were world class and Borthwick must find a place for him, but whether that is at 10, 15, or off the bench remains to be seen.

The Argentine flyer, who has represented his country in both 7s and 15s, was simply exceptional today. He looked deadly every time he received the ball, showing his pace when given space, and demonstrated either his physicality or kicking game if he had Newcastle defenders in front of him.

His try in the first half came from the old rugby adage to ‘always chase lost causes’, leaving his international teammate Simón Benítez Cruz scrambling in his wake. Deservedly named in Felipe Contepomi’s Argentina squad, he will be a real threat out wide to Wales, Scotland and England this Autumn Nations Series.

On the day of his hundredth appearance for Harlequins, Green really rose to the occasion. Composed under the high ball, electric with ball in hand, and grabbing two well taken tries, Green was fantastic before he left the field.

The South African born Green is uncapped, but is recently English qualified and would make a fine addition to any international side. He has not been selected by either Erasmus or Borthwick for this Autumn Nations Series, but anyone who has seen his last 100 games for Quins would argue he has earned an opportunity.

Vying with Marcus Smith for the 10 jersey, Evans sometimes doesn’t get the plaudits he deserves. Today he was sublime, expertly working in tandem with Smith in a dual playmaker axis, in the much less familiar 12 jersey. Evans showcased his test level playmaking credentials throughout the game, exposing Newcastle’s defensive frailties and creating space for Harlequins’ speedsters.

Wales’ new Head Coach Steve Tandy has named Evans in his Autumn Nations Series squad, and Wales Attack Coach Matt Sherratt knows him well from their time together at Cardiff, as well as calling him up out of the blue during his tenure as interim Head Coach for Wales in the 2025 Six Nations. With a blank slate under Tandy, his relationship with Sherratt, and his positional versatility, Evans could really push for a spot in the Welsh matchday squad.

Today’s running rugby from Harlequins was hardly the kind of game plan where a tight five forward shines, but Petti Pagadizábal rolled his sleeves up and did the hard work. He was imperious at the lineout, ensuring clean possession for his side, and disrupting Newcastle’s set piece every time they seemed to gain momentum.

Equally destructive on both sides of the ball, it is obvious how Petti Pagadizábal has amassed almost a hundred appearances for Argentina, and he will surely be an integral part of their plans this autumn, having been named in Contepomi’s squad. Fellow Quins Boris Wenger and Pedro Delgado are also named in the squad, as well as Newcastle’s Simón Benítez Cruz, and the aforementioned Rodrigo Isgro.

In a well rounded performance that balanced game management, pinpoint kicking, and gamebreaking moments of individual brilliance, Smith was rightfully awarded the POTM award, in a timely reminder to Steve Borthwick of his talents. After a disappointing team performance from Quins last week, Smith’s performance was widely criticised, and Harlequins Head Coach Jason Gilmour was quick to defend his playmaker, explaining that neither positive nor negative results fall solely at Smith’s feet, regardless of his deserving POTM performance today.

“He hits it out of the park against Sarries (Saracens), everyone lauds him, everyone has a crack at him last week, and then everyone is back on the bandwagon again this week. Marcus will play well when our team functions well, Harlequins isn’t just Marcus Smith.”

Facing one of the fiercest back threes in the Prem, Newcastle were cut to shreds by the starting trio of Murley, Isgro and Green. There wasn’t even any respite when young flyer Cassius Cleaves entered the fray, with Cleaves and the starters scoring four tries between them.

Newcastle Red Bulls Head Coach Alan Dickens did not mince his words when detailing their defence saying: “A couple of times that first half, especially in the wider channels, we probably weren’t on the same page.”

Jason Gilmour is not getting ahead of himself, despite an impressive win today. In a season that has seen Harlequins suffer multiple frontline injuries and lose Head Coach Danny Wilson to the Wales setup, Gilmour knows there are further challenges to come.

“We can’t get carried away. We’ve got Gloucester when we get back from the break, that’ll be the test for me. What do we do when we go to Leinster? It’s a good result today, but I’m not getting carried away with just the one result. We’ve got to make sure we keep backing it up.”

Although Harlequins won the first half convincingly by 35-0, the second half was a much closer affair, with Quins winning by just 17-14. This big change can be attributed to the Newcastle replacements, such as Prem debutant Nathan Greenwood and the rampaging, try scoring flanker Ollie Leatherbarrow. However Head Coach Alan Dickens was left to lament why Newcastle were not competitive from the beginning.

“One of the positives, and George McGuigan just spoke about it in the changing rooms, was the impact of the subs. The way that they came on, actually took it to them and went forward. But equally, we asked the question: ‘Why are we not doing that in the first half?’”

In previous years Harlequins have fielded more physical inside centres as options to support Smith, such as Andre Esterhuizen, to help relieve pressure and dent the gainline. However, Gillmour has fielded natural fly-halves Jamie Benson and Jarrod Evans in the 12 jersey this season, and he has explained the reasoning behind this tactical switch.

“To me it’s pretty simple. Our strike runners are in the wide channels, Murley, Isgro and Tyrone Green, so you’ve got to get them the ball. How do you get them the ball? To me I like having two playmakers through that midfield, and I thought Jarr (Evans) just takes the pressure off Smithy (Marcus).”