"Christmas is a time for giving and Bayonne presented this game to Harlequins by selecting an inexperienced side who realistically stood no chance. Manu Tuilagi and Gareth Anscombe were listed as injured, along with several others, but key players were rested too. There was nothing wrong with Bayonne giving Jonah Thompson, a 20-year-old Australian, his professional debut against rugby royalty in south-west London: but the fact he is a flanker, and was pressed into service on the right wing, was pushing it a bit far."
"The Champions Cup is supposedly an elite competition and that should be celebrated whenever appropriate. But the current format means too many clubs are selecting weakened sides for matches they regard as unwinnable or rather, when there are several others they think are more winnable. It is a problem, and it is short-changing fans. Quins scored 10 tries, nine of them converted by Marcus Smith, the player of the match, but it rarely felt like they were obliged to change up from second gear"
Bayonne named an inexperienced, partially rested side with several injured or rested players, handing Harlequins a heavily one-sided match. Jonah Thompson, a 20-year-old flanker, made his professional debut on the right wing. The current Champions Cup format is driving clubs to select weakened teams for certain pool matches, leaving fans short-changed. Harlequins scored 10 tries, with Marcus Smith converting nine and earning player of the match honours. The hosts struggled to retain possession early, produced handling errors from Luke Northmore and Oscar Beard, and benefited from a largely comfortable evening against under-strength opponents.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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