England’s golden boy Marcus Smith was phenomenal for the majority of Harlequins’ Champions Cup win against Montpellier today.
However, his usual calmness eluded him when it mattered most as he missed a straight-forward conversion to put his side up by 15 points, which would have seen them into the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
Montpellier won the first leg in France 40-26, meaning Harlequins only lost out by one point over the two legs, after winning 33-20 at home in the Stoop.
It was Smith’s clever pass that put Louis Lynagh through to score in the 75th minute, leaving Quins with just two more points needed to put them ahead of Montpellier on aggregate.
🤯 WHAT DRAMA!
🤯 Louis Lynagh gets the crucial try for Harlequins!
🤯 Marcus Smith MISSES the conversion!
🤯 They remain 1 point behind!#HARvMHR | #HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/M2RgzCuaws— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) April 16, 2022
His conversion was pulled left and wide, and Harlequins were unable to summon any more points, as Montpellier advanced to the quarter-finals where they will more than likely face Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle, last year's Champions Cup finalists.
Ex-Munster and Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery, who is currently lineout and defence coach at Harlequins, spoke after game and was clear in his view that there were many more moments across both legs that contributed to Harlequins’ loss.
There was a lot of moments if you want to look back on it across the two legs. We concede three points right at the death when we were in France.
“We probably weren’t clinical enough when we got into their twenty two.
“I think we probably didn’t show enough control at times.
"We haven't been to this stage of the competition for a while, when you get chances against the top teams you got to take them."@Harlequins' coach Jerry Flannery hopes they'll learn from their tough loss.
"We win together, we lose together." 🤝#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/40SSWDw4X5— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) April 16, 2022
Speaking on Virgin Media, Matt Williams and Shane Horgan were both critical of Smith’s miss, chalking the error down to the ‘pressure’ of the moment.
Smith can proud however as he did setup the final try, and, in the highlight of the game, made an astonishing break from deep in his own half which lead to Joe Marchant’s first half score.
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL TRY!! 😍
Excellent work from Danny Care to keep it in, then Marcus Smith sets off like a rocket! Playing in Cadan Murley who plays in Joe Marchant for the try! 🔥
Sensational rugby from @Harlequins! 💫#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/Ew3Da5gqxw— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) April 16, 2022
Like Ronan O’Gara after his kicking woes in the Heineken Cup Final in 2000, where Munster lost by a single point to Northampton, Smith will learn from this Champions Cup experience and will most likely come back stronger.
See Also: BT Commentators Criticise Handshake From Bordeaux Coach After Nasty Red Card in Champions Cup Game
