27-05-2025
The teacher who inspired Marcus Smith to success
On a warm early summer day at the Stoop, home of Harlequins, Marcus Smith is sitting in the West Stand being interviewed about an initiative to encourage more teachers to consider rugby coaching.
Behind him, and out of the England fly-half's vision, arrives Nick Buoy, Smith's director of rugby at Brighton College and a man who played a formative role in his development.
A tap on the shoulder and Smith turns around. He gives a double take, goes slightly red and then bursts out laughing. The surprise is complete, the affection and warmth between the two immediately obvious and genuine. As a teacher, Buoy had a profound impact on Smith, starting from the moment the two met.
'He's had a massive influence on my life, and that is a testament to him as a bloke and to his values,' Smith explains. 'I was very lucky to have somebody like him – so joyful and passionate about sport.
'He has an aura about him. It made you feel really good if he celebrated something the team did or something I did.
'By the age 17 and 18, I felt able to ask him why we were doing certain things. I felt confident enough to challenge him, but he welcomed it, listened to me and we talked it through. That enabled me to build my leadership skills at an early age.'
The relationship has continued to this day, and Smith still values Buoy's guidance and advice.
'He has been a wonderful sounding board to me,' Smith continues. 'I had a decent first year at Quins, but he was always telling me to work hard. I am lucky to play professionally now, but I am here because I enjoy it. My best mates are those I played with at school.'
Smith appreciates the benefits he enjoyed of going to a leading public school such as Brighton College, but he understands that for the sport to grow, it needs to broaden its appeal outside of its traditional heartlands. That is why he is so passionate about the new Gallagher Touchline Academy initiative, which aims to provide teachers across the country with the confidence and skills they need to guide rugby sessions. Created in partnership with Gallagher Premiership Rugby Clubs and set to be rolled out in schools across the UK over the next three years, its goal is to empower teachers like Buoy who can inspire the next generation of players and fans.
'The sport has some amazing values which see you develop as a person, and those come from your school rugby experience,' Smith says.
'There is a big issue with rugby about spreading the game to a different audience – it needs us players to grow the game. Coaches and teachers have a massive role in this, and the Gallagher initiative is very important in this.'
Buoy could not agree more. 'There are lots of variations of the game – touch, all surfaces, indoors, sometimes even without the ball – that help teachers new to the game put their toe in the water,' he says.
'When I was working at a state school, if we found a pupil who had a certain talent at any sport, we would contact the local club and take them there. My advice for a teacher would be to investigate the possibility; talk to somebody like me or the others who are involved. We will always help out.'
Buoy is an ardent believer in sport's ability to shape young lives.
'I use sport to make people achieve their potential and be a good person. You can learn lessons on the sports field that can't be taught in the classroom.
'If a teacher loves what they do, that will come across really quickly. I'm probably obsessive about rugby but I think that's OK. If you can get students obsessive and passionate about something, you are winning.
'And if that is rugby I'm very happy because maybe they will keep on giving to the game at their clubs as players, secretaries, coaches, helpers, fans. If you can get people passionate about rugby then the sport will be in a really good place.'
His pride in Smith and his achievements is obvious.
'I've got a huge amount of respect and love for Marcus. He is competitive and wants to be the best, but we are also very proud of the way he conducts himself off the pitch. He has all the time in the world for people, and that's special for us,' he continues.
'He first played in the first XV at scrum-half and I have very rarely seen one individual lift a team so much on his own. He took the entire team with him, he lifted the pace we played at, the intricacy, the speed, the tempo.
'There were a few times he told me I wasn't good enough as a coach! But he was right – he did it in a respectful manner, and it lifted me as a coach.
'We have always stayed in contact and to be honest it's when things aren't going so well that our players get back in touch. That's the time when they need somebody to listen or some objective advice.
'All the young kids want to be Marcus Smith; they want to play like him. If you fully gave him the reins it would be amazing. He sees things others don't. Everybody knows him as simply as Marcus, that's how big he is.'
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