Rugby wunderkind Marcus Smith is a play maker in league with an equally precise watchmaker
The ‘fly-half’ in rugby union is a pivotal position. The player forms the link between the forwards and the backs, and by virtue of their passing decisions dictates nigh-on every play. American football’s equivalent would be the quarterback, which – outside of the rugby crowd or, whisper it, the privately schooled patriarchy – is arguably the better-known role. Certainly the more glamorous, if we’re being honest.
However, rugby’s rather dusty, institutionally British reputation is starting to feel fresher than ever.
There is no finer example of this than the London Harlequins’ very own fly-half Marcus Smith, who’s making waves on the pitch right now. Cosmopolitan, social-media-savvy, better half to doting west London model Beth Dolling and at just 25 years of age already steering the English side to world dominance.
‘Steering’ being the operative word, since Smith exacts better leverage than most on the global stage. Something that a car company, fashion label or energy-drink manufacturer might clumsily wield – but instead, something that a historic Swiss watchmaker has had little trouble in aligning with.
Like the tightly coordinated components of Tissot’s horological squad (three examples of which Smith proudly sports here), Twickenham’s premier playmaker is known for his precise control over his team’s possession. Whether he’s dictating the tempo with a well-timed pass, placing a kick into space, or executing a snap tactical decision following a scrum, Smith reads and orchestrates, then adjusts on the fly, just as a watch movement’s oscillating, ticking escapement mediates the flow of energy through its geartrain. It’s a deceptively delicate role that rugby’s often-dismissed brutishness belies.
Born in Manila to a rugby-mad British father and a Filipina mother, Smith started playing rugby at the age of six for the Nomads club, before his family relocated to Singapore. He moved to the UK at the age of 13 and subsequently received a sports scholarship to attend Brighton College, where he captained the school’s 1st XV. He enjoyed an exceptional first season sporting the Harlequins’ famed quartered colour shirt, scoring 179 points in 26 appearances, and being included in Eddie Jones’ England training squad for the Autumn Internationals and the Six Nations, as well as being nominated for BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.
Smith shone once again in the 2020/21 season leading Harlequins to the Premiership title, finishing the season as the Premiership’s top scorer with 278 points (his eight tries in the season was the most by any fly-half). A meteoric rise that shows no sign of abating – one week on from securing the Premiership title with the ‘quins, the fly-half made his full England debut and scored a try as England defeated the USA. A pinpoint performance against Canada followed a week later, and shortly after coming off the pitch, Smith learned of his call-up to the British and Irish Lions squad in South Africa. You wouldn’t know any of this from Marcus Smith’s Zoom window, though. The man is fresh from a Tuesday-morning training session – and this is long before joining his teammates; he’s still self-training at the height of a hot British summer, which illustrates the drive that got him here.
“I’m privileged to be in a league that’s ultra-competitive,” he says. “My dad used to play but not at professional level,” Smith remarks of the parent who drove him to matches and practice. “These days the rules of the sport are constantly evolving, the guys are taking more pride in their physicality, I have to constantly adapt and suit… I’m just honoured to have a brand like Tissot to support me, to inspire me – as they do themselves – to improve my precision, my efficiency.
“At this level, I’ve quickly learned the best thing is to be myself and enjoy it. I wouldn’t define myself ‘just as a rugby player’ but I’m honoured that role gives me a vehicle to showcase whatever talent I have.”
Adding to his quick wit on the pitch, Marcus Smith’s footwork is unusually elegant and deceptive – just like the smooth motion of a seconds hand sweeping across the dial. Smith’s nimble creativity allows him to slide past defenders, evoking a sense of grace that masks the sheer muscle now underpinning every position in rugby’s modern game. Given Tissot’s 170-plus years of quiet agility, adapting to every technological turn and economical up or down affecting Switzerland, we’d say their partnership with Smith is fitting. Tissot pioneered the touchscreen watch with its 80s icon, T-Touch long before ‘smartwatch’ was even a word. But if you think that’s what Smith defaults to, you’d be wrong – as one glance of his Instagram account attests – infinitely more tailoring on show than tries.
“I’ve been in tracksuits and training gear all my life,” he says, “and, on the run, of course it’ll always be my T-Touch Sport on my wrist. But it’s so nice to be with a brand that allows me to switch up, to smarten things up.
“That’s what my Tissot PRX chronograph is for – I just love its intricate, light blue subdials. Or the new three-hander – the first PRX in carbon, all-black and great with a suit.”
Photography Alex F Webb
Styling Lauren Rucha
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