Training with DALEY THOMPSON and MARCUS SMITH: Sprint buddies clarify unlikely bond, the ability rugby star is perfecting to win again England No 10 shirt… and Smith’s secret Olympic ‘dream’

Marcus Smith is catching his breath between sprints under the winter sunshine. The occasional student stops by to catch a glimpse of him running lengths beside a university rugby pitch in Surrey. Beads of sweat run down his face as the man holding the stopwatch reminds him to keep his shoulders down when the fatigue kicks in.

Keeping warm beneath a beanie hat, the man holding the stopwatch is none other than double Olympic champion Daley Thompson. One 26, the other 67, they are unlikely training partners yet they talk to each other like the oldest of friends.

‘How’s Frank?’ asks Smith, curious about Thompson’s 84-year-old coach, Frank Dick, who helped the decathlete win gold in 1980 and 1984.

‘Still rings me every week to ask how I’m eating and sleeping,’ Thompson says.

‘Legend.’ They laugh throughout their training session, fizzing with positive energy.

Each rest period is an opportunity for a natter. Christmas plans, Brighton’s football team, family. ‘My brother has just arrived in the Philippines,’ says Smith of his sibling Luc, who happens to play rugby for Rosslyn Park. ‘He’s got the Asian Games coming up.’

Thompson peeps his whistle and Smith sets off on another run.

It is a space for advice, mentorship and getting things off their chests. ‘Did you see that one the other weekend?’ asks Smith, trudging back with his hands on his hips. The No 10 is referring to a Harlequins attack that fizzled out after Smith looked for the pass, rather than backing himself to run. ‘Four years ago I’d have scored that.’

‘Second guessing yourself,’ replies Thompson. ‘You’ll score it next time.’

Sometimes all it takes is a few words of positive affirmation.

An unlikely combination, few would expect to see Smith and Thompson together in the same room, let alone pitch them together as training partners. It is not something they do for sponsorship or publicity. 

I first heard about their relationship at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where I was sitting beside Thompson in the press box while reporting on Antoine Dupont’s France in the Sevens. I asked Thompson if I could come to one of their sessions and, a year or so later, here we are at Surrey Sports Park where they get together on Smith’s day off.

So, how did this unlikely combination come together?

‘My brother, Tomas, was in the same year as Daley’s son, Alex, at Brighton College,’ explains Smith. ‘Alex came to one of Tomas’ birthday parties when we were young and my dad said, “Oh my God, it’s Daley at the door”. I was a bit younger so I started Googling who he was. Legend.

‘When I started at Quins at 18, Daley made a joke to my parents that I was running like an old man. He wanted to help, so he gave his number to my mum and dad and I reached out. That’s where the running relationship started.

‘Early on, we corrected some of my technique. I’ve always been relatively decent in terms of my acceleration. But instead of running 20 metres and then getting caught I wanted to push it to 50. I think I’ve seen development and growth in that and that’s thanks to some of the sessions we’ve done in Hove and up the steps at Marine Parade. That was a fair while ago now.’

Sprint practice remains a convenient excuse for them to get together but now their relationship runs deeper than that. It is built on trust and friendship, with a shared appreciation of the other’s talents. 

‘We see each other whenever we can,’ adds Thompson. ‘Maybe two or three times a week during the summer. I love it because he’s such an enthusiast. He rubs off on me and I always have a great week after I’ve seen him. 

‘If you’re well paid and doing OK then it’s easy to put your feet up, but Marcus wants to get better. I wanted people to think of me as someone who worked hard, enjoyed myself and was a winner. Marcus is the same but he is much more of a pleaser than I ever was. He’s more interested in not hurting people’s feelings than I used to be!’

Smith has watched all the television documentaries about Thompson’s career. He knows about his nine-year unbeaten run and the headlines he generated along the way, including quips about hoping to have a baby with Princess Anne.

Did Thompson ever fancy playing rugby? ‘Too good looking for rugby!’ he cracks. ‘Go and ask any of the ladies in the cafe over there and they will agree!’

‘Are we going over for a hot chocolate?’ asks Smith as they wrap up their session, peppering Thompson with questions as he unlaces his boots. ‘Did you see Toby Harries in Tokyo?’ Harries ran for Team GB at the recent World Championships and happened to be in Smith’s school rugby team. ‘Just lob him the ball… beast!’

Over a cheese toastie and a hot drink, we briefly discuss next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. There is a moment of reminiscing about the last time the competition was staged in Scotland in 2014, when Usain Bolt arrived holding a can of Irn-Bru. ‘Was Usain Bolt a good guy?’ asks Smith. ‘Was he serious with his training?’

‘Didn’t need to be,’ replies Thompson. ‘Unbelievable talent. Usain… he’s laid back. He can be because he was so much better than everyone. You have a bit more competition!’

The pair discuss their experiences in the arena. It is hard to directly compare Thompson’s rivalry with Jurgen Hingsen to Smith’s battle for England’s No 10 shirt but they settle on a common ground through training and preparation.

‘I used to have a wicked counterpart in Germany,’ explains Thompson. ‘Physically, him and I were identical. Mentally I was slightly stronger and always produced my best performances on the day. He wasn’t quite as in charge of his performances. 

‘At the German championships, he broke the world record and then three weeks later I beat him. Not because I was better physically but because I was a bit stronger mentally.

‘That’s one of the things we speak about… dealing with pressure. It comes down to practice. In athletics, people don’t compete often enough. That’s different for a rugby player. My coach would have me competing every day. 

‘We’d be doing the shot put and he’d say, “Right, we’re at the Olympic Games now and you’ve got one throw, if you don’t throw 15.50 you’re buying me lunch”. So I’d throw 15.51!’

Smith takes over. ‘At Quins, we’ve started doing “What if?” scenarios. You’ve got a conversion to take the lead and then you’re receiving a kick-off… what do you do? The whole team is watching. 

‘We talk about backing yourself repeatedly. Repetition in training. On the 2013 Lions tour video, Owen Farrell has to do a kick or the whole team does fitness. That’s pressure! What was your last event in the Olympics? Your discus throw…’

‘I was leading in an Olympic games,’ recalls Thompson. ‘As you do! I’d had two really bad throws and a couple of people had overtaken me. If I didn’t throw a personal best in my last attempt then I wouldn’t have won. So… I did!

‘The great thing about all sports is the rules are different but the aim is the same. The aim is to win. The mindset is the same. You have to do the training and be prepared. Just because you’ve missed your last kick, so what? This is a new start and it only affects you if you let it.’

They do not dwell on anything for too long. Whatever the subject, one of them usually finds a way of bringing humour into it.

Conversation turns to rugby sevens. Thompson’s son played in a competition at the Honourable Artillery Company pitches in central London earlier this year. Both of them went along to watch, with Saracens teenager Noah Caluori among the players on show.

Has he tried to twist Smith’s arm to compete for Team GB in the Olympic Sevens? ‘I’ve said that to him and he’d like to. Seriously, we have spoken about all those kinds of things. 

‘That Olympic final we watched in Paris was incredible. Absolutely incredible. It was perfect. If you love sports, and I know Marcus does, being in the Olympic village is heaven. You can speak to any sports person in the whole world. It’s just so unique.’

Smith shows little hesitation. ‘I don’t think I’d need my arm twisting. I would like to. Not many people can say they’ve played in an Olympics. I’ve spoken to Rodrigo Isgro (his Argentine team-mate at Quins) who has done two and he says it’s arguably the best time of his life.

‘Seeing what Dupont did with France is pretty remarkable. It’s made him a better player. It’s made him faster, stronger. I remember growing up in Asia and watching Ben Youngs, Danny Care and Jack Clifford playing sevens. There’s a lot of skills you can learn from sevens. Managing a game probably isn’t one of them but there’s speed and skills.

‘Great Britain got a silver in Rio. It’s something you dream of as a kid. Like Daley says, I’ve loved sports my whole life. Whenever the Olympics is on, my dad has it on TV the whole day. If you said to me there’s an opportunity to be a part of it then of course I’d try my best to do that.’

You sense there is nothing Thompson would love more than seeing his young mate cutting loose on the pitch at LA 2028. The event has the potential to create a buzz of rugby excitement in the United States and players like Smith would bring box office appeal.

For now, however, Smith’s focus is closer to home, with Harlequins and England.

‘I like to remind myself that I’ve only had eight years. I’m still 26. I’ve got loads to learn, loads of mistakes still to make. 

‘At fly-half especially, the spotlight is on you the whole game. Your job comes down to making the right decisions in key moments. I’m sure I’m going to make a few more mistakes in the future. One thing I’ve always learned from Daley is keep turning up, keep working hard and ultimately you put yourself in the best place to make the right decisions.

‘My mum tells me things pretty straight. She tells me there are people chasing after you and you’ve got to run. She’s right. I’ve got to keep waking up and enjoying myself. Sometimes I go a bit too far the other way so I need to push the dial back. Sometimes I get bogged down and I just need to enjoy my training. That’s the reason I play the game, to be happy, do it with a smile on my face and try my best. 

‘That’s what Daley tells me. I’m not always good at his drills but we laugh about it. I’m trying to play and enjoy myself. Doing things like this opens my eyes to things outside the rugby bubble and puts a smile on my face.’

With the hot chocolates finished and the winter chill kicking in, Thompson offers a few parting words. ‘It’s a pleasure to train with Marcus. One of the things that’s nice about him is he’s remained consistent. When he was a young man he was a real whiner and he’s still a real whiner now!’

Laughter erupts once more and they discuss if Thompson will be down at The Stoop anytime son.

‘Do you know what? Every other week he invites me. The trouble is on Saturdays I always go to Battersea with 20 friends. We’ve done it for 20 or 30 years. We go for a run and then we stuff our faces in a greasy spoon afterwards and talk about how good we used to be.’

‘It’s class,’ Smith tells me. ‘Unreal. You should go. I went once and the energy was unreal.’

‘I tell you what,’ says Thompson. ‘Come the next time Marcus comes.’

‘You’ve got to be out there running with us, though,’ says Smith. ‘In the trenches, no excuses!’