Fin Smith not ‘naive’ as he opens up about ‘ongoing’ Steve Borthwick conversations and names his hardest hitting opponent

Steve Borthwick has told Fin Smith that he will be a “big part” of the England team for “years to come”, as the young fly-half looks forward to cementing himself in the squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series.

Speaking to Planet Rugby at the Pro Am Padel Tour in London, the 23-year-old said: “We’ve had some ongoing chats, and he tells me I’m going to be a big part of the team for years to come.

“Obviously, I’m not naive; there are a lot of other fly-halves playing well at the minute, but that’s something that he leaves to you and tells you to go play well at your club, and you find out where you’re going to be when you get into camp. But I’d like to hope I’ll be involved.”

There’s no shortage of quality fly-halves in the country right now, with George Ford in the form of his life, Marcus Smith returning to the Quins side with a Player of the Match performance over Saracens, and even Owen Farrell having returned to the Lions squad this summer.

As a top-level sportsperson, Smith won’t allow the stiff competition to affect him negatively.

“It gives me a real reason to go and want to play really well,” he said. “I would anyway, but seeing those guys playing so well, it’s just as a nice reminder that you’ve got to go out there and give your all.”

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Quick-fire questions with Fin Smith

Taking time between matches, we quizzed him with these quickfire questions:

If you could swap lives with one other rugby player? Who would it be?

“I’ll go, Marcus Smith. Marcus has got a lot of cash. Drives around in a G-wagon, lives it up in London. I go, Marcus, he’s got a good life.” 

If you had to play another position, it wasn’t fly half. What would it be?

“I’d love to play 12. If I was slightly more genetically gifted, a bit faster and a bit more powerful, I’d love to play 12. Be able to truck it up.”

Which rugby player would survive the longest on a desert island?

“I’d say, Max Lahiff, he seems like he’s good. A barbarian style guy. He would be able to hunt for his own meals and stuff like that.”

Who would be the worst person to sit next to on a long flight?

“I know he is definitely the worst person to sit next to on a long flight, because I’ve done it. It would be (Henry) Pollock, just non-stop yapping, talking absolute rubbish the whole time. So yeah, for sure, it’d be Pollock. It would be entertaining for about 20 minutes, and then you just need to tell him to put himself on mute.”

If you weren’t a rugby player, what job would you do?

“I’d love to be a finance bro, work in a city, wear a quarter zip, all of that stuff. But before that, there was a time when I wanted to be a tennis player. Up until I was about 11/12, I was all in on a tennis player dream. But that slowly fizzled out.”

Who’s the hardest hitter you’ve ever played with or against?

“I’d say Unders. Sam Underhill has got a hold of me a few times, and it’s never good fun. He deleted Mitch in the Prem final, which is quite funny. He still laughs about that. So yeah, I say Unders.”

Who’s the fastest player you’ve ever played with or against?

“I’d say a niche one, but he’s absolutely rapid. A guy called Jake Garside. He just left the Saints this summer and has joined Worcester Warriors, my old team, Scrum-half/wing, but he is absolute jets. I’ve seen him take the p*** out of people in training on multiple occasions. He was rapid.”

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