YOUNG GUNS
Fin Smith could be forgiven for looking back at his first Premiership start at Bath last week and wanting to consign it straight to the dustbin. Being 40-0 down at half-time is not the greatest situation for an 18-year-old fly-half to be in, especially one of such promise.
However, a playmaker’s life is never simple and after becoming the youngest ever Worcester player to start in a top-flight game, he has taken it on the chin. Smith said: “We were all pretty disappointed, especially with that first half, but we improved after the break.
“Personally, I got more of a foothold and was able to show a bit more of what I’m good at. We came back with four tries and even though I was a bit disappointed with my goal-kicking, to get my first Premiership start at a cool, historic ground like Bath was great.
“I had a taste of the Premiership off the bench against Gloucester a few weeks ago so I’ve progressed well and I’m getting more opportunities. It’s all happened quite quickly but I’m fortunate to be where I am and grateful to the people who’ve helped me get here.”
Highly rated enough to be namechecked by England supremo Eddie Jones last week, Smith might not be playing rugby now had he chosen a different sporting path.
He explained: “I played tennis at a decent level until I was 11. That was my main sport and I was doing about 20 hours a week and going all round the country, but I went to Warwick Secondary School and that’s when I had a decision to make – tennis or rugby?
“All my friends played rugby and the school was big on it and had a pathway to the Warriors, so it was quite seamless to take that more seriously. Tennis can be lonely so I enjoyed the craic more.”
Having played his junior rugby with Shipston-on-Stour RFC alongside tennis, Smith added: “My dad was always massively into his rugby so he was very influential in getting me involved, then at Warwick School our DoR, Tom Pierce, taught me a lot more.
“More recently, Gordon Ross was my U18s coach at Worcester and, as an ex-fly-half, he progressed me the most and I’ve got a lot to be thankful to him for.”
As a member of England’s U20 squad, Smith is aiming for a run at forthcoming Six Nations while honing his game to the levels of two players he admires.
He added: “I’m a big Finn Russell fan and I like Handre Pollard as well. With Russell, I like the flair he plays with and he plays with a lot of confidence, while Pollard is a big guy who uses his body and is quite solid in how he pieces it all together in attack.
“That’s the level I aspire to and, hopefully, I can get a bit more Premiership rugby now. If I can get involved in the U20s Six Nations, I’ll look forward to that too.”