Heading into yesterday’s east Midlands derby against Leicester, the asyet-uncapped 21-year-old fly-half was leading scorer in the Premiership with 46 points from four, full 80-minute appearances, earning the man-of-the-match award against Exeter in Round 5 following an accomplished all-round display.
Steve Borthwick, below, was among the 12,698-strong crowd at Franklin’s Gardens that day, and his presence was not lost on Smith, who is on the fringes of an England team that has Mitchell starting at 9.
“I saw him (Borthwick) on the big screen at one point and I thought, ‘oh s***’. But he dropped me a nice message afterwards saying that he thought I went well which is good,” said Smith, who comes across as a confident, but not cocky, individual.
“Fingers crossed, if I can keep playing well and putting in good performances, selection will be something that takes care of itself.”
Having experienced the England training environment in the build-up to the World Cup before being cut from the final squad, Smith makes no bones about what his next goal is – winning his first cap.
The driving ambition is for that to be with England rather than follow his grandfather Tom Elliot and play for Scotland, where both his parents were born.
“I have had chats with Gregor (Townsend) in the past about that option but for the minute I am focusing on playing well for Northampton and, hopefully, try and get picked for England,” said the former Worcester player.
“That would be amazing. I set myself a few goals at the start of the year and top of that list for me was getting a cap for England this year.
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Denne historien er fra November 19, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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England show who's No.1
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Stephens' debut try sees off old rivals
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