Courtney Lawes hails ‘tactical mind’ of England rookie who can be as good as ‘prime Jonny Wilkinson’
Former England international Courtney Lawes and Red Rose fly-half Fin Smith.
Retired international Courtney Lawes has hailed the performance of England fly-half Fin Smith after he steered his side to victory in their Six Nations Test against France recently.
After making a 15-minute cameo off the replacements bench in England’s defeat to Ireland in their Championship opener at the Aviva Stadium, Smith was promoted to the starting line-up for the highly anticipated clash with Les Bleus at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday.
The 22-year-old, who has made nine Test appearances after making his England debut against Italy in 2024, came to the fore with an impressive all-round performance in a memorable 26-25 victory.
Smith caught the eye with excellent game management and some fine touches on attack which culminated in him setting up the match-winning try in the game’s closing stages for Elliot Daly, while also impressing off the kicking tee as he slotted two conversions.
After beating defending Six Nations champions Ireland at Twickenham last year, England suffered seven consecutive Test defeats against Tier One opposition.
That all changed with their victory against Fabien Galthie’s highly-rated France side and with their clashes against Les Bleus and Ireland now out of the way, Lawes believes England are firmly in contention for the Six Nations title especially with his former Northampton Saints team-mate pulling the strings as their chief playmaker.
Backs England to ‘push on’ for Six Nations title
“I have every confidence that we can push on now, especially with Fin Smith at fly-half. He’s got the tactical mind that an international number 10 needs,” he wrote in his Times column.
“I don’t see any reason that he can’t be as good as Jonny Wilkinson was in his prime.
“I have been impressed with him ever since he joined Northampton Saints from Worcester Warriors. I saw him really step up a level last season in terms of taking responsibility and becoming a leader as Northampton won the Premiership and reached the semi-finals of the Champions Cup.
“Fin is inexperienced, but he seems really experienced. That’s just his mindset and the way he carries himself.
“He probably understands the game better than I do. He is not as fiery as Dan Biggar, who was his predecessor at fly half for Northampton. But Fin will make demands of his forwards and give them direction.
“That’s great, especially for a young man like him.”
Lawes, who currently plies his trade in France with PRO D2 side Brive, admitted that nerves seemed to get the better of Smith during the game’s early stages but said he was impressed with how the young fly-half grew into the game.
“This was his first Test start against a dangerous French side. He was pretty tentative to begin with,” he added. “He looked a bit nervous. But you saw him grow throughout the game.
“By the end, he was at his best. You just saw him make better decisions, be more accurate, assume more control. When the game was on the line and at its most tense, in that final 20 minutes, he looked so comfortable with being in charge.
‘It was great to see’
“He took on the goal-kicking duties and it didn’t faze him. It was great to see.”
Lawes feels Smith is still far from being the finished product and highlighted some of his faults against France, but is excited by the heights which he can reach in the game.
“Of course he has still got things to work on. He is only 22 and a Test rookie,” he wrote. “His tactical kicking against France could have been better. He wasn’t getting the distance on kick-offs that he usually does.
“But there has been so much growth in his game already. He’s taking big strides forward.
“I have seen it in his defence. He was always brave and committed. Only six players in the whole game against France made more tackles than Fin. He has still got a boy’s body. He’s got plenty of room to grow in terms of his physicality.
“He’s going to be such a good player for England because he brings out the strengths in those around him. You saw how well he linked with Tommy Freeman and Ollie Sleightholme, the two Saints wings.
“Smith could help Ollie Lawrence, the Bath centre, take his game to the next level too.”
