Saints fly-half Smith so keen to make his mark for England in Summer Series

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Saints star Fin Smith is eager to stamp his authority on the England 10 shirt this summer.

The hugely talented 22-year-old is one of two fly-halves selected by Red Rose boss Steve Borthwick, with Harlequins man Marcus Smith also included.

Borthwick has even spoken about the possiblity of both players being on the pitch at the same time at some point this summer as Marcus Smith can also line up at full-back.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

As for Fin, he is just looking to show his class at 10 after helping Saints to secure Gallagher Premiership glory at Twickenham last Saturday.

“We have an individual development plan and mine was to win the league with Saints and get an England cap,” said Smith. "I have now done both of those things.

“But I don’t feel like I have actually made my mark at all on that (England 10) jersey.

“So that is the goal, to go into camp and give it my all and if I make my mark and make the 10 jersey my own, that would be a massive way to end the season.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I have not really had time for any of it to sink in but I look back to what I have done in the last three seasons and I have never really been happy with what I have done on the pitch.

Fin Smith lifted the Premiership trophy with Saints on Saturday (photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)Fin Smith lifted the Premiership trophy with Saints on Saturday (photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Fin Smith lifted the Premiership trophy with Saints on Saturday (photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

“This is the first year I have been pleased at times with what I have done.

“I have worked incredibly hard, I gave myself a bit of a talking to at the end of last season and said ‘if you want to be this guy that is remembered for what you want to be remembered for, and do all the things you want to do you are going to have to start working really hard’, and I have tried to do that.”‌

Smith and six of his Saints team-mates headed to England camp on a high on Monday, two days after lifting the Premiership trophy at Twickenham.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It was far from easy against 14-man Bath, who battled bravely before an Alex Mitchell try six minutes from time won it for Saints.

“We have felt with how we played that we deserve to win something and even more so when they got a red card,” said Smith.

“We thought: ‘right, we definitely deserve to win something now’ but I think we just got so nervous because we felt like we needed to do it.

“Honestly, I don’t think we have been that bad all year but, saying that, with the experiences we have had, Leinster away etc, we got there.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The best teams find a way to win when it is not looking good for them.”‌

Smith added: “I think I did my first ever prayer, which is a bit weird.

“Then I was like ‘we have lost, we have lost, we have lost it’ and then the lads stripped it at the end and I was trying not to cry. It was unbelievable.

Alex Waller grabbed me and he was pretty emotional. To do that for those guys: him, Courtney and Luds (Lewis Ludlam), to give them something to go out on, they deserve it.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Now Smith's full focus is on hopefully facing Japan and New Zealand with England in the weeks to come.

And he said: “I went on a school rugby tour to New Zealand when I was about 16 or 17 and we did a stadium tour of Eden Park, which was pretty cool and that was the first time I saw the place.

“It would be a nice full circle moment if I manage to get out there and perform.

“They are rugby mad over there, so it should be pretty cool getting stuck in this summer.”‌

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1897
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice