'Whirlwind of emotions' for Robbie as he savours roles with Saints and Scotland

The hooker went from becoming a Gallagher Premiership champion to a Scotland tourist and then into a position of even greater responsibility at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens following the departure of Sam Matavesi to Lyon.

“I obviously didn't play in the semi and final and then we won it (the Premiership) and I found out I was going away with Scotland so it was a whole whirlwind of emotions,” said Smith, who is competing with Curtis Langdon for starts in the No.2 shirt this season.

“I'm buzzing to be here (at Saints). It's the best place.

“Speaking to guys when I was away with Scotland – I was obviously at Glasgow before and loved it – by the sounds of it, things haven't changed a whole lot back home so I'm definitely in the best place to be playing my rugby.”

Smith has gone from strength to strength since joining Saints from Newcastle Falcons in the summer of 2022.

He formed a strong hooker unit with Langdon and Matavesi as Saints went all the way in the Premiership last season while also reaching the semi-finals of the Investec Champions Cup.

And more will be expected of him this season after Matavesi made the move to France.

“I wouldn't say it's extra responsibility, I'd say it's obviously a massive opportunity,” Smith said.

“I'm good friends with Sam and he helped me a lot when he was here so he's a big miss.

“Him leaving opens the door for me to have more regular game time which is obviously a positive for me.

“Sam was really good to me, helped me a lot and made me understand things about my game so I can't thank him enough for that.

“But it's a good opportunity for me now.”

Smith's confidence continues to rise, especially after he made his Scotland debut against Canada in Ottawa in July.

“I was in Canada and USA, which was pretty cool, getting my first cap,” he said.

“I had to come back here with the international window and stuff like that so it was short but I loved it and it made me want to get back into it for the autumn.

“In terms of being here at Saints, I've loved it. It's a new group, a lot of guys have moved on, guys who have been the furniture of the club for a few years.

“I've only been here for a few years but I feel like one of the older ones at the moment.

“It's refreshing, the boys are getting on really well and all the new signings and Academy boys have bought in straight away in terms of what we are as a team so it's been class.”

Saints have had a mixed start to the season, winning both home games but losing both away matches, including last Saturday's East Midlands derby at Leicester Tigers.

Smith came off the bench in that 24-8 defeat.

And he said: “Obviously we were pretty disappointed.

“In a derby at this point in the season, we want to be winning that.

“We had full confidence going there and probably just didn't get it right in terms of a few little things, but the pleasing thing was that we got over the line four times, we had two yellow cards and it always makes it difficult.

“There were large parts of the game where it was a lot of us but there were just too many creaks and the scrum wasn't where it had been in previous weeks.

“You go to Welford Road and play those boys, you've got to do well in the scrum so it was frustrating but probably a good wake-up call for us.”

Next up for Smith and Saints is a key home game against Sale Sharks on Friday night.

“We take it week on week, but Leicester and Sale probably pose similar threats up front in terms of their scrum and maul,” Smith said.

“It's a good place to put some wrongs right at the weekend.

“Sale are a good team, a tough team, they're tough to beat. They're a hard-working, physical outfit and you need to work really hard for any score you get.

“I definitely feel like if we stick to our game plan, what we're good at then we'll break them down. We've got to stick in it for the whole 80 minutes.”