Just a year out of school, Marcus Smith scoops 3 awards to round off remarkable debut season

Marcus Smith has capped a remarkable first season with Harlequins by scooping three awards including the Player’s Player of the Season less than a year after leaving school.

Injuries to Demetri Catrikilis and Tim Swiel meant that Smith was thrown in at the deep end with Quins and asked to fill the number 10 void created by the retirement of All Black Nick Evans. Smith, still only 19, responded so well to the pressure that he was included in Eddie Jones’s training squad for the Autumn internationals and Six Nations and is pressing for a place on the summer tour to South Africa.

Despite Quins enduring an injury-ravaged poor season that will see John Kington the director of rugby leave at the end of the campaign, Smith has proved he is a real talent and this was recognised at the club’s annual awards last night.

Smith was named IG Players’ Player of the Season, Addidas Supporters’ Player of the Season and the Nick Duncombe Young Player of the Season having scored 179 points in 26 matches. The outside half was also nominated for BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year and won the Young Sportsman of the Year at the British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSA).

Smith earlier this week joined internationals Chris Robshaw, James Horwill, Joe Marler, and Tim Visser in signing new contracts to remain at the club and will be joined by centre Bath centre Ben Tapuai and Nathan Earle from Saracens next season along with forwards Nick Auterac (Bath) and Alex Dombrandt (Cardiff Met).

No.8 James Chisholm was named DHL Player of the Season for the second season in row having made 16 appearances including a Man of the Match performance in the European Rugby Champions Cup win over Wasps at The Stoop.

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