Saints star Smith reveals pre-match plans ahead of Falcons clash

Fin Smith and Tom Pearson were the players who stepped up to chat just after midday ahead of the festive fixture at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

So it seemed like a good opportunity to ask Smith exactly what a top rugby player's preparations look like when all of the week's training is done.

And Smith spoke in a typically affable manner as he revealed his plans for this afternoon, evening and tomorrow before kick-off at 3pm.

The England fly-half explained: "We've got a tradition we'll go and grab a coffee in town, a few of us.

"I'll get some physio, get a nice massage to make sure the legs are feeling light for tomorrow.

"Then I'll go home, watch a bit of TV, me and (house-mate) Tom Pearson will cook a carbonara together tonight with some garlic bread, watch the rugby that's on tonight (Bristol Bears v Sale Sharks) and then I'll nestle into bed about 10pm.

"Tomorrow, I'll wake up, have some pancakes, feel a bit nervous, try to go for a walk just to get movement and light into me, then I'll come into the club at about 12.30pm ready for the game at 3pm.

"I'll start prepping, get the body moving and go out and start my warm-up an hour before kick-off. That's my routine and I've done that every week since I've been here so it's pretty nailed on by now."

When asked how he's feeling ahead of tomorrow's game, Smith said: "I'm buzzing for it.

"We love being back at home.

"We've been away in the past couple of weeks so it will be great to have our fans back and they should hopefully be right behind us if we give them something to cheer about on the pitch."

He added: "We obviously let ourselves down (at Saracens) last week but the best thing about this job is there's always a chance to get again the next week.

"We're really looking forward to it.

"We're trying to just relax. We don't need to panic.

"We're a good side and we just need to make sure we get our process right and hopefully the performance will take care of itself."

So what did Smith feel went wrong in the 39-24 loss at Saracens, in which Saints were 24-0 down at half-time?

"We probably just weren't quite at it mentally," he said.

"Rugby's a sport that involves a lot of parts, but unless you're properly at the races with being switched on in the mental side of it, you're never going to get things quite right.

"I think we were five per cent off it with our attention to detail around contact skills and some of the little bits that make our game work.

"It's hard to put our finger on it and we've been really searching for some answers this week.

"Hopefully we'll see a much better performance tomorrow."

But Smith knows Saints must perform well to beat a Newcastle Falcons team who have been much improved under the guidance of Steve Diamond this season.

"They've obviously really found a way to win this year," Smith said.

"I've been coached by Steve Diamond for a year and a half at Worcester so I know what his style is and he'll have those boys emotionally and physically really at the races.

"They're a physical side, they don't give you much for cheap and we know we've got a big job first and foremost to front up then hopefully the rugby side of things will follow.

"It will be a gritty game, a scrappy game and we need to make sure we're at it to get a result tomorrow."