Saints star Smith talks England, TikTok, Pollock, Pau and more

But the fly-half is now ready to shine for Saints in big battles at home and abroad to show why he should be first choice for the Six Nations in 2026.

George Ford started England's wins against Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, with Smith given the 10 shirt for the game against Fiji.

England won all four matches and Smith then returned to Saints, having not played in either of the final two Red Rose encounters.

The 23-year-old started at fly-half for his club last Saturday but it wasn't a happy return to Gallagher PREM action as Saints suffered a hugely disappointing 46-12 defeat at Bristol Bears.

And Smith and Co will now look to bounce back in style when they travel to Section Paloise for their Investec Champions Cup opener on Sunday.

Reflecting on his time with England, Smith told this week's BBC Radio Northampton's Saints Show: "It was a tough few weeks mentally.

"You go into that with such high expectations, having done well in the Six Nations and gone on a Lions tour.

"Getting your head around some of the selection things, it does sting, it is hard to take, especially when I've absolutely loved how it feels to wear the England 10 shirt. Having that taken away from you, it does hurt.

"But me and Steve (Borthwick) had some good conversations about why that was and what that looked like, and all I can control is coming back to Northampton, trying to play well, keep getting better and hopefully my form gets me back in the team soon.

"It's one of those things and it's not that I particularly played badly for England or anything like that, it's just sometimes in sport people get an opportunity and they take it. George absolutely did that and the way he played in that All Blacks game, it was tough for me to go and ask why I wasn't getting picked after that.

"But I still absolutely believe in myself so I've just got to keep at it.

"Steve always has a meeting with you every week to tell you where you're at with selection and why he's gone with what he's gone with.

"I've always got my side of things and put my opinion forward, but ultimately he's the one who picks the team so it's just good for me peace of mind wise if there's anything I can do differently and that sort of stuff.

"A lot of what they said was that they're really happy with how I'm playing and where my game is at, it's just I went away on the Lions tour, George came into a team that did really well in Argentina (during England’s summer tour) so they wanted to keep a bit of continuity around that.

"Sometimes that's just the way it is, but refreshingly from my point of view, this time last year Marcus (Smith) started all the games in the autumn and then I played the Six Nations.

"It's not always going to stay like that forever so all I can do is keep playing well here and that should stand me in the best stead for England and all that stuff as well."

While in camp, Smith was part of a vital TikTok, which saw him, Saints team-mates Henry Pollock and Tommy Freeman and Leicester Tigers full-back Freddie Steward choreograph a dance.

"That was the Thursday night before we played the All Blacks that we did that," Smith explained.

"A lot of people have been very upset thinking that we were rubbing it in and not being gracious in victory (after England beat the All Blacks).

"Tommy (Freeman) was keen for us to all dance, we all had a bit of energy and it took us about an hour to learn from top to bottom.

"Then he left camp injured and decided to post it without telling any of us, 24 hours later it had got 15 million views or whatever.

"It was funny and Pollock and Tommy seem to think it's a good tradition that they'd like to carry on so watch this space for more TikToks in the future."

Pollock, who is just 20 years old, has become a social media phenomenon since breaking into the Saints team.

And Smith, who will be rooming with the flanker when Saints go to Pau this weekend, said: "It's great for the game and he's just told me that he's overtaken the Northampton Saints Instagram page in followers so he's confident he's now bigger than Northampton Saints Rugby Club – and the figures back it up unfortunately!

"But he's not stupid, he knows what he's doing a lot of the time and how the sport needs characters.

"He's someone who's willing to put his neck out there and with a lot of the endorsements and the publicity he gets with it, there are some difficulties he has to deal with. There's a certain audience of people who seem to actually hate him, but he just rolls with the punches and seems to find it all very funny.

"He was in Dubai with Ardie Savea last week and no one who knows him or has ever bumped into him has ever said anything other than he's a lovely guy with a good heart and he's a good laugh. He knows that's the most important thing."

Smith has also benefitted from social media in the past as his performance in Saints' stunning Champions Cup win at Munster in January 2024 catapulted him into the spotlight.

"I felt like that was the first game that really put me on the map in terms of social media and people knowing what I could do," Smith said.

"I felt like I was going on a decent trajectory but often it just takes one moment to spark a bit of interest and people keep an eye on you from there.

"That was a game I often think about with fond memories because going down to 14 men and winning at Munster in the way we did, it's one of my best memories at the club so far."

The triumph at Thomond Park was part of a campaign that saw Saints reach the Champions Cup semi-finals, eventually losing to Leinster at Croke Park.

But they went one better last season, beating Leinster in the final four to make it to the final, in which they lost to Union Bordeaux Bègles in Cardiff.

"We seem to have really flown the flag for English teams in the competition during the past couple of years," Smith said.

"We just really value it now and get really excited about what it can do for us as a group.

"Some of the best memories I've got playing for Northampton are away big European games like the one we've got coming up this weekend.

"I think of Munster away, Glasgow away, we've beaten the Bulls away, we went to Leinster away at Croke Park and then obviously the semi-final at Leinster last year - these are really big games against giants of rugby with huge followings.

"We're just a little old club from a little old town in England and we just rock up as a group of mates who really get on with each other and are ready to try to upset some people. We've loved doing that over the last few years."

Saints were hampered by injuries before and during their bid to beat Bordeaux back in May, with the black, green and gold eventually losing 28-20 at the Principality Stadium.

"It will always be a great memory and I still have that what if about what would have happened if we'd have had Juarno (Augustus) fit, if we'd had Tom Pearson fit, if Curtis (Langdon) was fully fit, if we hadn't had Furbs' injury and James Ramm’s," Smith said. "It might have looked slightly different and we could have gone all the way, but I guess that's just sport and I don't think it will take away too much from how cool a weekend we had in Dublin."

Saints will face Bordeaux again this season as they travel for a pool-stage game there in January.

"It will be tasty," Smith said. "First and foremost we'd like to get one back on them for the final and some of that added spice of all those things that went on after the full-time whistle around (Henry) Pollock and stuff like that.

"It just adds a little bit more fuel to the fire for that fixture and we'll be looking forward to going over there to a stadium where they don't lose many games and trying to spoil the party."

First though, Saints must try to pass a different French test, in Pau, who have won all six of their home games in the Top 14 this season.

"Anthony (Belleau) stood up this week and sort of gave us a flavour of what they're all about," Smith said.

"He said they're second in the league, it's the first time they've ever qualified for the Champions Cup so it will be a huge day for them as a team and a town so they will be very emotional and the fans will be really up for it.

"We've got to go over there and play our best stuff to win so we're under no illusions about that.

"The best thing about these European games is that we don't know too much about the opposition so it just allows us to focus on ourselves and what we do best.

"Particularly against the French teams, when we've played against Castres and Clermont, we've really valued trying to put as much speed into the game as we can, whether that's quick taps or quick throw-ins and trying to really drive the ball in play time up because you find French teams are often huge packs.

"We back ourselves in terms of fitness slightly better than those guys but we also can't let it get too frantic, which is sometimes the case when you try to keep the ball in play for ages.

"We want to play fast but we want to play physical so we'll be going there for a scrap and looking to match what they have and give them a taste of how physical we can be."

Smith insists Saints have confidence they can go all the way in the Champions Cup this season.

"We all believe," he said.

"We know what it takes to do well in this tournament and we've got the group to do it.

"Saying it is one thing, doing it is another, but we'll be hoping to take a step in the right direction this weekend, that's for sure."