Chris Robshaw’s warning to ‘class act’ Fin Smith ahead of ‘really important evening’ for English rugby
Chris Robshaw hails Fin Smith and discusses Northampton Saints' Champions Cup hopes.
Fin Smith has been warned he will have a target on his back when Northampton go in search of Investec Champions Cup salvation against Clermont on Friday.
The England fly-half spearheads Saints’ bid to book a home quarter-final knowing defeat would bring the curtain crashing down on a miserable season for the Premiership champions.
Only Newcastle and Exeter languish below them in the domestic league and the last time they played at Franklin’s Gardens they were humiliated 33-0 by East Midlands arch rivals Leicester Tigers.
England backline stars
Yet Saints boast the bulk of the backline which helped England to runners-up spot in the Six Nations and, as the lone English side with home advantage in the Round of 16, have the best chance of reaching the last eight.
In Smith they also have one of the stars of the Six Nations, a playmaker who, in his first four starts at 10, led his country to four wins and was so influential on both sides of the ball that he is seen as a Lion-in-waiting.
Clermont will know all about him from what he did to champions France in the first of those four appearances, a man of the match display capped by his pass assist for Elliot Daly’s last-minute winning try.
And former England captain Chris Robshaw believes that newly acquired status provides a fresh challenge for the 22-year old in club rugby’s most prestigious competition.
“Fin is a real class act, the way he has come in and grabbed his opportunity with England,” says Robshaw. “But it is one thing doing it when people might not know you, especially teams out of this country.
“It is another doing it where you step out under the lights as England’s 10 and everybody know who you are and what you can do. Players are going to go after him; back-row, forwards, centres, they’re going to try and put him under pressure.
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“For Fin now it’s about saying, ‘You know what, I am this player, this is my team’ and showing he can guide Saints in big situations, especially when people are going to be putting heat on him.”
Clermont reached the knockout stages in dramatic fashion, scoring a try to beat Bristol with the clock six minutes into the red. They are three-time Champions Cup finalists, a club with a rich history.
But they lost each of those finals, last won a French title in 2017 and have been beaten in five of their six most recent Top 14 games.
Given the dismal form of both sides Saints will hope home advantage gives them the edge. Fraser Dingwall, captain in the absence of George Furbank, admits they “owe” their fans a performance.
“This is such a massive opportunity for Northampton and, let’s be honest, a really important evening for English rugby,” says Robshaw, who will be on punditry duty for Premier Sports at the Gardens.
“The Premiership really needs at least one team putting on a good show in Europe. Last season Saints and Harlequins reached the semi-finals but, unfortunately, this time we’ve fallen away a little bit.
“So Saints are carrying a lot of hope. They have a backline full of confidence, not to mention a forward in Henry Pollock who is on fire, and they’re at home.
“There’s no question home advantage is huge in European knockout games. You would take that all day long over going to Leinster, Toulon or Toulouse, as Harlequins, Saracens and Sale [respectively] must this weekend.”
Last year’s experience
Robshaw reckons the experience of last year’s run to the last-four will stand Saints’ players in good stead.
“Their players will have grown,” he argues. “Last year they possibly punched above their weight whereas now they will have that confidence from knowing they’ve come through these big games and, in many cases, become serious international players.
“Their mindset needs to be, ‘This is our stage. This is our platform. This is the level we should be competing at’.”
Chris Robshaw is part of the Premier Sports team bringing every game live from the knock-out stages of the Investec Champions Cup – and EPCR Challenge Cup from quarter-finals onwards. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
