England star blown away by Welsh duo and says everyone stands back to watch legend

Were it not for Gloucester's swathe of Welsh call-ups this autumn, Harlequins would have ample reason to consider the Stoop as the green, green corner of the Gallagher Premiership.

While the name London Welsh is already taken, Quins have done a good job of making a little corner of Cymru in London with a host of Welsh players on their books.

This summer saw Wyn Jones and Leigh Halfpenny join Dillon Lewis, Jarrod Evans and Bryn Bradley in the senior squad, while there’s also the likes of Seb Driscoll, Tom Golder and Jonny Green coming through in the academy.

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Welsh tighthead legend Adam Jones is on the coaching team, while Danny Wilson and Billy Millard have both spent time at Cardiff in their careers.

There's even a few Cardiff Met graduates too, with Alex Dombrandt, Luke Northmore and Roma Zheng having all studied in the Welsh capital. England No. 8 Dombrandt even played for Wales U20s.

England scrum-half Danny Care, who has spent nearly two decades at Quins, admits he's loving the Welsh influence at the club.

He calls front-rowers Wyn Jones and Lewis "good craic", while he admits Adam Jones is "just funnier as he's getting older".

"He's great to have around," says the TNT Sports pundit of the former Lions prop. "The boys love him.

"On and off the pitch, he's a character. It's a good Welsh contingent. Great boys who have settled in really well.

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"Leigh is someone I've played against loads of times in my career. To get to work with him every day is really cool. He's another old boy which I'm really glad of because there's not many of us anymore.

"I'll be honest, I don't see him an awful lot because I'm in and out and he's there (on the training field) all day! He's an unbelievable professional. Still as fit as a fiddle.

"There's not many lads that, when they kick a ball, everyone watches it. Normally, kickers are kicking, but when Leigh kicks a ball, it gets kicked.

"It's like a golfer when it takes off and you hear that noise. Leigh Halfpenny's the one of the only lads I've seen that when he kicks a ball, it looks amazing and sounds amazing. It's been great to have him around the squad."

Halfpenny has also had an influence on England fly-half Marcus Smith. After a summer that saw him miss some crucial kicks in a narrow defeat to the All Blacks, he credits working with the former Wales full-back for a recent upturn in his work off the tee.

"They've been working really closely together," added Care. "Marcus is the ultimate sponge.

"He just wants to learn off everyone he can. To have someone like Leigh, with his experience and kicking in the big moments, those two spend hours together on the field, chatting and kicking.

"I'm in the coffee shop while they're still going. I'm think he's really enjoying having Leigh around."

Of course, the form of Smith does impact upon another of Harlequins' Welsh contingent - with Jarrod Evans vying with the 25-year-old for the fly-half jersey. The former Cardiff playmaker has been described by some as the best back-up 10 in the league this season, with his form putting serious pressure on Smith.

"Jarrod is an unbelievable player," says Care. "It's tough for him because he sits behind Marcus and even he would probably say you have to pick Marcus, because he's unbelievable.

"But he waits for his opportunity, plays 80 minutes and gets man of the match (against Exeter), guiding us around Sandy Park. He's such a smart ball-player.

"I've watched him in training for the last year or so, but seeing him in the last couple of weeks, I don't think there's many as good as him at taking a ball to the line, manipulating the defence with his hands and then picking the right options. He did a few in training this week where we're all going: 'How did he do that?'

"The bravery to go to the line, where you're going to get wacked by one of these massive back-rowers, and he's pumping and showing and throwing balls to people. He's an unbelievable player.

"He's always watching NRL clips or watching rugby league. I grew up watching Leeds Rhinos so I like it. We're always picking each other's brains.

"We've got some good Welsh players. It would be good if Wales picked them!"

Every match of 2024 Autumn Nations Series is exclusively live on TNT Sports and discovery+. Watch The Autumn Nations Rugby Show, free-to-air on Quest every Thursday at 10pm from Oct 31.