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 plenty of others, but four frontline players were rested. 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 arguably 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 they think others are more winnable. 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 as if they were obliged to change up from second gear.
