'On a different planet': Blues English recruit Joe Marchant raves about Super Rugby experience
English Super Rugby star Joe Marchant has labelled the competition as being "on a different planet" after moving to the Blues from Premiership side Harlequins for the 2020 season.
Marchant, who has been capped three times by England, is on a six-month sabbatical with the Auckland club and has starred for Leon MacDonald's side as they won five of their seven matches before the tournament was suspended by SANZAAR.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Marchant said "it feels like the rugby is so quick" in New Zealand.
Continue reading below...
"To be able to play out here, you have to be able to live with the speed of it," the 23-year-old midfielder said.
"Coming over, I thought that defence was a strong part of my game and that maybe I could put a marker down. You hear about how defence over here is not as good as it is in the Premiership.
"I realised pretty quickly that wasn't the case at all. The play is so quick that, often, defences cannot get set. There will be three or four offloads in a row and you can't even get into position."
Marchant, who played his two most recent matches for the Blues on the right wing, spoke of how challenging it is to defend as a centre in the competition, but had enjoyed testing himself against the best midfielders in the Southern Hemisphere.
"I've played against [Anton] Lienert-Brown, [Jack] Goodhue and Laumape – those are three amazing, international centres in the New Zealand conference alone. I'm there trying to compete and to do as much as I can."
"I really do hope that this will be a point of difference," he said. "When I come back, I can use this experience and combine it with everything that I have done back home. And then kick on."
Marchant isn't the only British midfielder plying his trade in Super Rugby this year, as veteran former Welsh and British and Irish Lions international Jamie Roberts has been playing for the Stormers in South Africa.
The burly 97-cap star moved to Cape Town from Bath shortly before this season's campaign kicked off, and told the Daily Mail last week that Super Rugby has challenged his skill set in ways that European club rugby hadn't in the past.
"I'm a pretty competitive bloke so my goal is always to win. Super Rugby is challenging my skill set and I feel as if I'm distributing the ball more," he said.
"I'm not playing a complete ball-carrying role with the Stormers which was my role in many sides throughout my career.
"I feel I am a guy who gives the team momentum but we've got one hell of a forward pack here so I don't have to do that as much. When you do take on the line as a ball-player or a ball-carrier you are running into less traffic.
"There is more aggressive line speed back home so a lot of the time you are carrying into two people.
"In South Africa teams have to defend with width because you can get the ball out so quickly - meaning it's often one-on-one collisions.
"In that respect, if you can use your footwork a bit more, your offloading game comes into play more. It's testing my ability to pass at full pace in terms of 15-20 metre passes."
In other news:
Latest Comments
The difference between Fassi and Le Roux?
Almost 100 tests. Fassi is growing from test to test and is already world class. It’s going to be difficult for Damian Willemse to usurp Fassi at 15 and may find himself destined as the utility back on the bomb squad.
South Africans love hating on their fullback. A proud tradition since Percy Montgomery (before he won us a World Cup). So I don’t pay much mind to the noise that follows anyone who puts on the 15 jersey for SA.
15 is a high risk, low reward position. You don’t dare drop a high ball, certainly don’t shank a kick into the stands. In fact if you’re not kicking 60m torpedoes into the opposition corners - stay at home.
And miss tackles? After everyone else on the team has let a break through - best you not miss!
Only Andre Joubert strikes me as a fullback that has been better than Willie. Yet Willie has been widely panned on a regular basis. Irritating.
Fassi is great. And I’m sure he’s learning a lot from Willie.
Go to commentsNo, Penney's win rate as a Super Rugby coach BEFORE he was given a 2 year contract here, was 23%. He came in with a very poor success rate at SR level.
This loser vibe was borne out over the SR season where we won only 4 games while losing 10. Finishing 9th in a 12 team competition & missing a QF spot was next level DOWN.
There's zero evidence that suggests we will win 10 games (70%) as you predict. I understand there may be new assistant coaches coming on board. At this stage, we can only hope for the best.
Go to comments