Northampton Saints fly-half Fin Smith ‘unfazed’ and ‘relaxed’ about the possibility British and Irish Lions selection

By James Logan

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Northampton Saints and England fly-half Fin Smith refuses to give any hints about expectations ahead of tomorrow’s Lions selection.

Smith broke into the England squad full time during the Six Nations and is a stalwart in the Black, Green and Gold’s success both in the Premiership and Europe.

He feels like he has to take every opportunity he is given to put his name in the hat for the summer trip down under.

He said: “It’s a tough one, isn’t it, everyone will give you the bog-standard answer of ‘I just need to focus on my own game’ and other stuff like that.”

He highlighted that one performance will unlikely force a late selection change, but there’s still time for a late bid.

Unphased

The fly half added: “But before any selection, I’d hope that would not change too much in what I would be trying to do.

“I would like to still go out and play my best rugby, and that being one of the many incentives to do so.”

Since joining Saints from Worcester, he has guided the Midlands side to Premiership champions and a European semi-final, but he feels, despite gaining more experience, he’s made no changes to the way he carries himself on and off the pitch.

Smith said: “I try not to do things differently, like I’ve always wanted to turn up to training every day and work hard and try and get better.

“Just taking bits and bobs and looking at parts of my game that maybe I didn’t have last year as I didn’t have much experience of big games or playing at the highest level.

“But in terms of differently, I don’t think I have done anything new I have just kept it the same.”

Test Level Experience

The 22-year-old was also asked about the impact gaining test level rugby experience and has it made him more relaxed.

He said: “It is definitely about trying to be more relaxed at this final stage as I was this time last year and I was a bit nervous and tense.

“I would like to think I’m now more relaxed than I have been and that comes with experience.”

Smith also made it clear that despite his positive performances, there are always other players to replicate, Sam Prendergast being one of them.

Sam Prendergast

The fly-half said: “Yeah, I guess, looking at him, I am always looking at other 10s and seeing if I can learn other things.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for him in the way that he has carried himself in such a calm manner and incredibly unfazed.

“Especially after everything that has been thrown at him with some of the madness that some of the Irish media have chucked at him in the Crowley vs Prendergast debate.

“But he is an unbelievable player, and he has a box of tricks with a variety of kicking and some of his late passing game and I have a lot of respect for him as a player.”

With foreseeable summer tests and future finals for the young English 10, the big games keep on coming and so does the experience.

He went on: “Yeah of course you do, you take learnings from every game that you play in, but the big ones are the ones that you learn the most about yourself in.

“The big occasions, the big crowds, there is stuff riding on it but it’s also what it takes to win those big games as the intensity also goes up.

“Everything is under a magnifying glass, and you’ve got to be right at it and that’s the experience.”

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