‘Absolutely, why wouldn’t you back Fin Smith at 21?’

Sam Vesty has lauded the role played by young out-half Fin Smith in helping to get Northampton to the top of the Gallagher Premiership. Last weekend’s comeback win over Sale, which left the Saints sitting in a rare first place, was their fourth league success on the bounce and their seventh in 10 outings ahead of next Saturday’s trip to the second place Exeter.

Potential England pick Smith has been at the heart of this consistency, starting all nine Premiership games so far, and having trained with Steve Borthwick’s England during pre-season ahead of their Rugby World Cup bronze medal finish in France, there is speculation that the uncapped 21-year-old could now get on the field in the upcoming Guinness Six Nations.

With World Cup skipper Owen Farrell out of the running due to his Test rugby sabbatical, the initial expectation was that the No10 shirt would be a straight fight between Marcus Smith and George Ford but the recent form of Northampton’s Smith has since caught the eye.

Jacques Nienaber on evolution and why he left international rugby

Former Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has given his first Leinster press conference and at it spoke about how big a role family played in his decision to leave Test rugby. He also spoke about evolution and how it will take a while to get things right at Leinster.

Jacques Nienaber on evolution and why he left international rugby

Former Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has given his first Leinster press conference and at it spoke about how big a role family played in his decision to leave Test rugby. He also spoke about evolution and how it will take a while to get things right at Leinster.

England boss Borthwick enjoys a kick-heavy approach and Smith’s 2,091 kicked-metres tally in the Premiership is only marginally less than Ford, who is on 2,199.

Seventy-three of those kicks have been in play with Northampton retaining 11, while the youngster isn’t shy on the other side of the ball as he has so far been credited with 100 tackles – the ninth-highest by any player in the league.

Love this team ??Happy New Year ? https://t.co/TBvmEmIcRb

— Fin Smith (@finsmithh) December 31, 2023

Smith was already diligently making his way in the Premiership as a teenager at Worcester before their financial collapse resulted in him switching to Franklin’s Gardens in October 2022. The exit since then of Dan Biggar to Toulon only accelerated the fast-track learning that now potentially has him on the cusp of an England call.

Smith’s youthfulness was never an issue with Vesty when it came to quickly making him Northampton’s first-choice No10. “Absolutely, why wouldn’t you back Fin Smith at 21? He is mature, he has got his head screwed on,” reckoned the head coach during his virtual media briefing ahead of next weekend’s trip to Sandy Park.

“He is a good rugby player and ultimately that is what matters. I don’t really care how old someone is.

“If they are going to go and do a good job and…