BBC Rugby Union: Fin Smith Eager to Shine for England After Premiership Glory with Northampton Saints
Fin Smith, the talented fly-half from Northampton Saints, is determined to make his mark in the England jersey after a standout season that culminated in a Premiership title triumph. The young playmaker was at the heart of the Saints’ push for domestic glory, earning the prestigious Rugby Players’ Association (RPA) Player of the Year award and earning his first caps for the national team in 2024.
Despite Northampton playing with 14 men for 59 minutes against Bath in the Premiership final at Twickenham, Smith kept his composure to contribute 8 points in the narrow 25-21 victory. The Premiership champion was delighted that his side could cap off their impressive campaign with a piece of silverware.
“This season, we have felt that how we are playing we deserve to win something and even more so when they got a red card, ‘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,” Smith reflected.
The young fly-half’s performances throughout the season have earned him plaudits, with the 22-year-old admitting that he has worked incredibly hard to reach this level.
“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,” he explained.
With the injury to George Ford confirmed, Smith now has a golden opportunity to stake his claim for the England number 10 jersey.
“I have come off the bench for 10 minutes in Italy and 15 minutes in Scotland and I don’t feel like I have actually made my mark at all on that jersey. So that is the goal, to go into camp on Monday and give it my all and if make my mark and make the 10 jersey my own, that would be a massive way to end the season. Fingers crossed,” he said.
As the England national rugby union team prepares for their upcoming Tests against Japan and the All Blacks, Fin Smith’s hunger to cement his place in the side will be a key storyline to follow in the coming months.
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