Harlequins crushed Bayonne 68-14 in the Champions Cup, scoring ten tries in a dominant display that exposed a growing problem with the tournament's format. The French side fielded an inexperienced reserve team, prompting criticism that clubs are "short-changing fans" by prioritizing domestic competitions over Europe's elite club rugby competition.
Marcus Smith delivered a masterful performance for Harlequins, converting nine of ten tries and earning his third player of the match award in a short period. The 68-14 victory marked Harlequins' largest ever winning margin in the Champions Cup, with a 54-point difference.
Bayonne arrived at the match with key players rested and several others listed as injured, including Manu Tuilagi and Gareth Anscombe. The visitors fielded a 20-year-old Australian flanker, Jonah Thompson, out of position on the right wing for his professional debut. They also deployed a flanker on the wing and a full-back at fly-half.
Ruthless Display
Kieran Treadwell, Will Porter and Sam Riley each scored two tries for Harlequins, with Cadan Murley adding another at 22 minutes. The referee gave Will Evans a yellow card in the first half, briefly allowing Bayonne back into the contest at 21-7, but the home side's dominance resumed after the interval.
Harlequins coach Jason Gilmore acknowledged the imbalance in the competition. "We can only play what they put out there obviously." he said after the match. He explained that international guidelines mandate resting players within the first three weeks, creating a difficult situation for clubs.
"By international guidelines you've got to rest your players within the first three weeks. It's hard to get the balance of it all. The boys want to play the best every week. Is that possible? It can be really difficult for clubs and I completely understand why some clubs rest players. It's a real balancing act." Gilmore said.
Tournament Under Fire
The lopsided scoreline represents a damning indictment of the current Champions Cup format. Travelling teams often field weakened sides for matches they view as unwinnable, resulting in non-contests that undermine the competition's credibility.
Bayonne supporters left their seats five minutes early to form a giant conga around the pitch, waving flags and largely ignoring Harlequins' tenth try. "When you clock up 60-odd points it shows you're being ruthless with your approach, which is really nice." Gilmore noted.
The substantial victory boosted Harlequins' points difference in Pool 3, with hopes for fewer similarly lopsided scorelines in future tournament stages. "It's a bit like that in the Champions Cup at the moment – are the travelling teams at full strength at the moment? Probably not. But you've got to make sure you take your five points at home." the coach added.
Other Results
English champions Bath suffered a 45-34 defeat to Toulon at Stade Mayol in a compelling contest. Despite securing a try bonus point, Teddy Baubigny's stoppage-time try denied Bath a losing bonus point. The result leaves Bath top of Pool 2 with six points from two matches.
Edinburgh endured a heavier defeat, losing 33-0 to Castres in France. Head coach Sean Everitt defended his decision to make 11 changes to rest key players ahead of the 1872 Cup double-header against Glasgow. "[...] we fell apart a bit with a lot of unforced errors, handling errors, which is unusual for us." Everitt said. The loss leaves Edinburgh on five points in Pool 2, tied with three other teams.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
