Fin Smith was only 12 years old at the time, but he will remember the thunderous viral hit put in by Saints legend Courtney Lawes on France fly-half Jules Plisson back in 2015., external
On an adjacent patch of Twickenham pitch, Smith got a taste of something similar, being levelled by a flying Ethan Roots 25 minutes into the game., external
No matter.
Smith dusted himself down, got back to his feet and was undeterred in playing physical and flat to the line.
He weighs in at less than 14 stone, but his appetite for the physical stuff is Jonny Wilkinson-esque at times.
Six minutes after Roots’ shuddering shot, its victim was barging through Stephen Varney at short range for a try.
Overall, he carried 12 times and made 13 tackles, putting him third-highest in the Northampton ranks for both categories.
He made shrewd decisions, added momentum with ball in hand and was good off the tee, missing only a long-range penalty as his team wound down the clock, and a conversion from way out wide.
The day before this final, fly-half rival George Ford had a mixed night for a mix-and-match England side in their warm-up against a France XV in Vannes.
Smith is undoubtedly in pole position to be at 10 facing down the Springbok charge when England take on South Africa in their opening Test of the summer on 4 July.
