Super Rugby: Blues sabbatical a dream come true for England's Joe Marchant

The heat of New Zealand's summer, pace of the Kiwi game and size of his opponents are the main challenges for English newcomer Joe Marchant as he prepares to start for the Blues in his first ever Super Rugby competition match.

Marchant, a 23-year-old Harlequins player who made his England test debut last year, will start at centre for the Blues against the Chiefs at Eden Park tomorrow and running on to a sunbaked Onewa Domain last Friday afternoon and holding his own against the likes of Ngani Laumape and Ben Lam in his team's narrow victory should put him in good stead.

All Black midfielder Laumape, the size of a compact SUV and with the torque to match, was as direct and powerful as usual for the Hurricanes and wing Lam clearly has lost little of the pace which has seen him cut teams to shreds over the past couple of season.

But Marchant, downunder in order to develop his game – particularly on attack, he admitted this week – did well enough to earn a start against a side likely to be one of the competition front-runners. It will be his first match at Eden Park – as of Wednesday he had yet to visit the place.

"He's big isn't he?" Marchant said of Laumape. "As we ran out I saw him and a couple of other boys like Ben Lam … these boys are big. It was a good experience to play against him (Laumape).

"Obviously at home you're not going to get the opportunity unless you're playing in internationals. I'm trying to make the most of every opportunity."

That is the long and the short of it for Marchant, a midfielder reversing what has become the natural order of things by taking a rugby sabbatical in the Southern Hemsiphere.

Blues' new midfielder Joe Marchant. Photo / Photosport

At 1.83m and about 95kg, he is not the biggest of centres. He and TJ Faiane, Leon MacDonald's first midfield combination of 2020, are a lot smaller than the recently departed Sonny Bill Williams and Ma'a Nonu, but Marchant is quick and athletic with excellent anticipation.

"It's a bit of a change up," he said. "It's obviously different, the rugby. The pre-season games were pretty tough. They were quick – I'm not used to so much running.

"I hope it will develop my game. I used to watch Super Rugby all the time as a youngster and I wanted to get amongst it. Being in the England set-up, you want to play in the Premiership and you want to play for England … obviously those were the dreams but on the side was another – to come here."

Marchant, who arrived in Auckland with a toe injury but is now fully fit, said Harlequins fully supported his development plan.

"The Premiership is quite physical and forward oriented," he said. "Sometimes there are a lot of driving mauls and that type of rugby. I wanted to change it up. Watching on TV, [Super Rugby] seems to have a more attacking aspect.

"I found that especially against the Hurricanes. There's a lot more emphasis on keeping the ball in play, a lot more attack, a lot more playing from deep. Being able to keep myself alive and keep staying in the game the whole time [is key]."

He said he was aware of the Blues' history and their recent struggles. This current team were focused only on what they could do over the next five months or so, he said.

"I'm so excited – I just want to get out there and do the best I can."