{"id":97292,"date":"2023-12-12T17:44:37","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T17:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/?p=97292"},"modified":"2023-12-12T17:44:37","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T17:44:37","slug":"marcus-smith-admits-hurt-over-underperforming-for-harlequins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/marcus-smith-admits-hurt-over-underperforming-for-harlequins\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcus Smith admits &apos;hurt&apos; over underperforming for Harlequins"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Marcus Smith admits &#8216;hurt&#8217; over underperforming for Harlequins after England star made mistake of rushing back into action after the World Cup<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Marcus Smith\u00a0helped England finish third at the World Cup in France\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>He has featured in every game for Quins since coming back from World Cup<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The 24-year-old was man of the match in win over Racing 92 at the weekend<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Marcus Smith admitted he returned from World Cup duty with England too soon and should have taken a break before playing for Harlequins again after getting back to his enterprising best.<\/p>\n<p>Smith helped Steve Borthwick\u2019s national side finish third at the global showpiece in France earlier this year and played the majority of the tournament at full-back instead of his favoured No 10 position.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The 24-year-old has featured in every game for his club since coming back from international action.<\/p>\n<p>Smith now believes that was a mistake but he was certainly back firing on all cylinders at the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>He was man of the match in a famous 31-28 win over Racing 92 in Paris, scoring a try and kicking four conversions and a 45-metre drop goal for a 16-point haul.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/11\/16\/78830759-0-image-a-1_1702313836268.jpg\" height=\"413\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Marcus Smith\u00a0has featured in every game for Harlequins since coming back from World Cup<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I think it was quite difficult for me to come back from the World Cup,\u2019 Smith said. \u2018It took me a few weeks. I was underperforming in the first few games I played back in the Quins shirt which hurt me to be honest because I take pride in the way I train and play at the weekend.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The wellbeing of and demands on England\u2019s top rugby stars has become a big talking point after captain Owen Farrell decided to take a break from Test action to prioritise his and his family\u2019s mental health. Smith said he has learned resting in the future will help him prolong his career.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I had two weeks off in the off season and three weeks of training because I didn\u2019t want to miss the jump. I was desperate to get on that World Cup tour,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I think I was a bit naive in thinking I could just come back straight away and slip in. But it\u2019s a good learning for next time \u2013 just to understand better when to say no.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I love playing for this club and playing rugby and I wanted to do that as soon as I got back, but I think in hindsight I should have taken a week off.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I can&#8217;t speak on Owen&#8217;s situation. I wish him all the best with his decision and I keep in contact with him. I was so desperate to come back and so eager to play again, but I also need to look after my mind and body to make sure I have longevity in the game. I feel really good now on the back of the last two-and-a-half weeks.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/11\/17\/78800535-0-Marcus_Smith_shone_as_the_England_fly_half_led_Harlequins_to_a_b-a-4_1702314142701.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The fly-half led Harlequins to a famous win over Racing 92 in Paris at the weekend<\/p>\n<p>With Farrell missing next year\u2019s Six Nations and likely all of 2024 in terms of international action, the England fly-half jersey is set to pass to one of George Ford or Smith.<\/p>\n<p>The latter was in sensational form as he helped Harlequins down Racing.<\/p>\n<p>There is no playmaker in the English game with the running and attacking threat to rival that of Smith. \u2018I love playing rugby and I love playing for Quins and I&#8217;m so invested in that at the minute. A lot can happen between now and whenever the England squad is announced,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n<p>Smith also said moving from the 15 shirt back to No 10 was part of the reason why he wasn\u2019t at his best in his first few games with Harlequins.<\/p>\n<p>He has also received help from his club\u2019s psychologist.<\/p>\n<p>After returning from Paris La Defense Arena with a five-point win over the leaders of the French TOP14, Harlequins face more Gallic opposition in the Champions Cup this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Toulouse \u2013 the champions of France \u2013 are their next opponents at The Stoop on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/11\/16\/78830807-0-Smith_helped_England_finish_third_at_the_global_showpiece_in_Fra-a-3_1702313944076.jpg\" height=\"360\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The 24-year-old helped Steve Borthwick&#8217;s England finish third at the World Cup in France<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s going to be an exciting game. Hopefully the weather permits a free-flowing game like we both want,\u2019 Smith said of facing Antoine Dupont and Co.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018They have stars across the field who can strike from anywhere \u2013 similar to Racing. There will be a few sore bodies from this game so we&#8217;ll have to do our best to recover as well as we can and get our emotions right. In this competition you can&#8217;t switch off for a second, especially in your home games. We want to kick on in this competition.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Sunderland\u2019s Stadium of Light will play host to England\u2019s Red Roses in the opening match of the 2025 Women\u2019s World Cup. The tournament will be hosted exclusively in England.<\/p>\n<p>The RFU and World Rugby have targeted selling out Twickenham for the final and breaking the record for an attendance for a women\u2019s match.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12851279\/Marcus-Smith-admits-hurt-underperforming-Harlequins-England-star-mistake-rushing-action-World-Cup.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marcus Smith admits &#8216;hurt&#8217; over underperforming for Harlequins after England star made mistake of rushing back into action after the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Marcus Smith admits &amp;apos;hurt&amp;apos; 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