In the 20th minute at Franklin’s Gardens, there was a tantalising glimpse of what could be.
Marcus Smith caught the ball at pace, with the Northampton defence on the hop in front of him.
With a puff of the cheeks, a swish of the hair, Smith jagged off his left foot, leaving England wing Tommy Freeman hopelessly off balance on his way to the tryline.
Out wide, in space, it was a position he wouldn’t have been in, but for a switch of position.
With a spate of injuries to contend with, Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson opted to deploy Smith at full-back against the defending champions.
Perversely, while it was Smith’s first time at 15 in the Premiership, he has done decent time at full-back at international level, starting there in three of England’s France 2023 matches and stepping in for the injured George Furbank against France in the Six Nations in March.
He did well in attack and, an ill-advised dart across his own tryline apart, was solid enough in defence and under the high ball.
Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie use their combination of fast-twitch fibres and game-smart grey matter to flip-flop between the two play-making roles down in New Zealand.
“Marcus is a 10, he is our 10 and England’s 10,” said Wilson after his side’s 33-29 defeat, emphasising that he saw his star’s future at stand-off.
But 15 might be yet be Smith’s Test-level trump card.
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