Fin Smith: From emerging prospect to the moment he ‘realised’ he wasn’t ‘far away’ from England greats
Just under three seasons ago, Fin Smith was told he was jobless and left scrambling for a club, now he is targetting Champions Cup glory as a Lion.
Just under three seasons ago, Fin Smith was told he was jobless and left scrambling for a club.
Fast forward to this week, the defending Premiership champion is a British & Irish Lion and preparing for a European Champions Cup Final.
A rapid rise, but quiet and confident – his performances in whichever 10 jersey he’s pulled on speak for themselves.
From an emerging prospect, when the Worcester Warriors fell to England’s fly-half and the key cog in Northampton’s relentless backline, his impetus in Saturday’s contest against Bordeaux Begles will be vast.
Their season-defining clash against the Top 14 high flyers could go one of many different ways.
But there’s one thing for sure, and that’s if the French side’s coruscating backline featuring Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey find their groove, then the Saints will need to match them.
Northampton, their Shoe Army, and Smith will have to fight fire with fire.
Fine margins
Champions Cup Finals have historically been decided by the tightest of margins, with the past three being inside three points after 80 minutes.
Making the most of every opportunity could be decisive, and Smith will know that missing kicks at goal is not an option. Despite having a slightly lower conversion rate at 69% than his opponent, Mathieu Jalibert (70%), the Englishman has a knack for producing when the pressure is on, as he showed in his player-of-the-match display against Scotland.
In every environment the 23-year-old has been immersed in his young career to date, he’s thrived under the stewardship of those around him, but he’s now his own man.
And he can handle the pressure, when the lights are on, is when Smith has been at his highest.
“I remember my first day walking out for a kicking session with England. It was me, Marcus (Smith), Owen (Farrell) and Jonny Wilkinson who came in and did kicking coaching,” Smith reminisced to me on a career-changing moment.
“Marcus and I speak a lot on and off the pitch and try and learn as much from each other as we can.”
“I quickly realised I wasn’t as far away from those guys as I thought”.
He has a quiet confidence in his rugby brain, and it was clear to see his humility and that he feels he belongs. Rugby is in his blood, with his grandfather, Tom Elliot, a former Scotland and British & Irish Lions tourist.
Shoe Army
He’s fast-tracked the bucket list of a professional rugby player like that annoying kid who aced all his exams, but his dream few months down under can wait – it’s about the town of Northampton this weekend.
Smith’s gratitude to the Northampton Saints standouts, they picked him up when he needed them most and by god is he repaying the favour.
It’s been a pretty bleak domestic season at Franklin’s Gardens with the side not quite picking up from the high of their Premiership play-off Final win last year.
Yet form is a huge factor in professional sport, there will always be ups and downs and the best sides are the ones that deal with it the best.
And the Northampton Saints have found a rich vein of form at just the right time with some big Premiership wins while basking in the underdog tag that they’ve seemingly been appointed.
Many wrote the side off before their semi-final win over Leinster, but the English side and their rampant travelling ‘Shoe Army’ brought the noise and ultimately the performance of their season to secure their berth in Saturday’s final.
“The fans are so passionate, it’s a massive rugby town, you walk around the place and get people congratulating you on the weekend or if you lose, telling you you were rubbish”, laughed Smith when speaking to Planet Rugby on the importance of the Northampton fans.
“They’re so supportive, they’ll be singing and chanting, and I don’t think there are any fans better in the league”.
Fin Smith v Mathieu Jalibert
Saturday’s final at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff will see two classy fly-half operators, who, when they bring their A game, unleash their side’s deadly backlines, who play with pace and punish you out wide.
For Smith, having Alex Mitchell inside and Fraser Dingwall outside him for club, and often country, makes his job easier with the Saints’ backs’ cohesion a major factor in why they are so slick.
They’re all on the same wavelength, and Northampton will know if they can keep Bordeaux’s attack contained, then they will have the opportunity to bring the same flare that brought their travelling fans such joy against Leinster.
It’s a positive thing that they’ve got in Northampton – their Lions quartet of Mitchell, Smith, Dingwall, Tommy Freeman, and Henry Pollock are just ordinary English lads.
They get along with each other off the field and the older lads help the younger lads on it; it’s a hearty system that bleeds tremendous results.
“We’ve got quite a young squad, so there are a lot of guys I can relate to, and when I was young, players like Fraser Dingwall really helped me out”, stated Smith when looking at the Saints’ dynamic.
Northampton’s final on Saturday will be the perfect occasion for the neutral and has the potential to go down as one of the great European contests.
The underdogs couldn’t do it again, could they?
