Assistant coach Norman Laker said the DHL Stormers will pay special attention to Harlequins star Marcus Smith when the teams clash in the Investec Champions Cup on Saturday.
The Stormers face the English club in round 2 of the EPCR competition at Twickenham Stoop. John Dobson’s men lost to Toulon in Gqeberha last week, while Harlequins are also looking to bounce back after going down to Racing 92 away from home.
Smith’s creativity and flair make him Quins’ X factor. At just 25, the mercurial playmaker has already dazzled with his rapid rise, combining tactical brilliance with attacking instincts.
Addressing the impact of the 39-Test Englishman at the Premiership outfit, Laker this week praised Smith’s skills while highlighting how Springboks such as Warrick Gelant and Manie Libbok have helped the Stormers prepare.
“It’s tough to know what he’s going to do if he doesn’t know himself what he’s going to do,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“From what I’ve seen [of him], we’ve played against him twice – the British & Irish Lions match at Cape Town Stadium {in 2021] and then the Harlequins two seasons ago – we know he’s a quality player.
“We watch him a lot at international level as well, so we know more or less what to expect of him and what we need to do to make sure that we can give ourselves a good opportunity in this game.”
“We’re fortunate enough to have players like Warrick, Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu], Manie, Jean-Luc du Plessis training at the HPC in Bellville; those four are quality players and sometimes they also don’t know what to do, and I think that’s good preparation… for a guy like Marcus Smith,” Laker added.
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“He can put anyone into a hole or make something out of nothing. He won’t be someone new because a lot of our players have played against him at international level as well.
“With his style of play, if you do put him under pressure there can be one or two mistakes.”
The Stormers made home advantage count in a 60-point thriller with Quins in round 16 of the 2022-23 Champions Cup, but the Capetonians will arrive in London 0-3 in all competitions and crippled by injuries. Laker, though, is optimistic.
“I’m going to lie to you if I say we’re just going to go to compete; it’s not in our blood or who we are. We’re going to go to get a win,” he said.
“Everyone is preparing well for it, and we’re looking forward to the game. It’ll be a good test for us, it isn’t easy going to Europe to get a win but not impossible. On the day the ball can bounce our side and we can pull off a win.”
On the Harlequins challenge, he added: “Marcus is obviously a big threat, if he gets going he can put a team on the front foot and they’re a good attacking side.
“The weather is slightly different from what it is at the moment in South Africa, so we also need to look at ourselves and how we’re going to approach the game.
“If Marcus is on song then the whole team gets go-forward and they’re a quality outfit.”
Photo: EJ Langner/Gallo Images
