Fin Smith has timely chance to shine in battle against Springboks fly-half

With England places up for grabs for the upcoming Autumn Tests, Fin Smith has a great opportunity to thrive against Springboks fly-half, Handré Pollard, in a duel likely to determine the outcome of the encounter, especially as the weather currently looks favourable for goal-kicking.

Handré Pollard is having a stellar career. The Springboks fly-half orchestrated South Africa's pathway to receiving the Bronze Medal in England in 2015. He also kicked beautifully en route to South Africa's World Cup triumph in Japan in 2019. In France, once again, his goal-kicking was instrumental in the knock out stages last autumn as the Springboks edged out the All Blacks in a compelling 2023 Final that saw Pollard claim his second Webb Ellis Cup alongside his Bronze Medal in 2015.

In contrast, Fin Smith is a fresh face in the international game. The Saints no. 10 made his England debut in the 2024 six nations, coming off the bench against Italy in Rome. The young but electric half-back is still learning but is very much at the forefront of Northampton’s journey to last season’s Premiership title. The way he manages the game against Pollard, a likely starter for Tigers at the weekend, will determine whether he may start ahead of Marcus Smith, who put in a monumental shift against F. Smith and George Furbank last weekend in a breathtaking contest.

Despite Northampton seeming rattled against Bath on the opening night, Fin Smith still stepped up to kick 11 points off the tee and he very nearly pulled off a perfect, delicate cross-field kick in the second period which would have resulted in a spectacular try for James Ramm. Unfortunately for Saints, however, James Ramm only just lost control of the ball in the act of scoring because of the small distance he had to reach for the ball. The tactic did, however, yield a try against Exeter in round two. In the warm ups it became apparent that both Fin Smith and George Furbank sensed a weakness amongst the Chiefs’ back three comprising of Hodge, Feyi-Waboso and Brown-Bampoe as they were practising numerous cross-field kicks. And so they proved to be right. Two cross-field kicks from Smith and then one more from Furbank within six phases of play resulted in Saints’ third try in round two which, ultimately, handed Saints the important victory.

In a tight match against Harlequins, it could be argued that Marcus Smith bettered some Saints performances purely based on the numbers, however George Furbank played a crucial role in Ollie Sleightholme’s second try with a deft offload when on the deck. Furthermore, even though Fin Smith was slightly more subtle over the course of the match, he did go for territory on a few occasions, thus putting Harlequins under pressure at various points of the game on top of kicking four crucial conversions. Marcus Smith, though, did not go unnoticed in his full-back duel with George Furbank as he demonstrated his utility in spades and showed that he could potentially play full-back for England in the Autumn.

It goes without saying that Marcus Smith will definitely be vying to wear either the no. 10 or no. 15 jersey this autumn and, therefore, both Fin Smith and George Furbank need to keep producing week-in week-out to remain favourites in Borthwick’s eyes. This weekend, though, presents a great opportunity, especially for Fin Smith. The 22 year-old is likely to go up against South African talisman, Handré Pollard, fresh from a Rugby Championship triumph, no less.

Handré Pollard dominated the game between the East Midlands rivals last November in a game when Fin Smith struck only one penalty for Saints. However, in the return fixture, Smith dazzled in his appearance off the bench in attack, but especially when he nailed a drop-goal in the closing stages to inflict further pain on their arch rivals to avenge the September 2022 defeat at cinch stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

Fin Smith, player of the match against Exeter for his all-round game, is more than capable of matching the experienced South African and there are going to be some other interesting duels on show on Saturday evening. For example, Freddie Steward and George Furbank will each be keen to show off their array of talents and skills in a game that Steve Borthwick is highly likely to attend at the weekend. Smith, the prospective England fly-half, needs to continue demonstrating his creativity and skill-set in attack whilst also ensuring his side employ a territory-based game in order to put the Tigers under pressure. With the exception of brushing aside Newcastle, Leicester’s attack has barely functioned this season as they had only finished five tries in two matches before the trip to Kingston Park. On the other hand, Saints have scored a combined total of nine tries against three high class opponents this season. Therefore, if Fin Smith can regularly turn Leicester back into their corners, perhaps with a few 50:22s, then Leicester look as though they may struggle, especially with the likes of Sam Graham and Chunya Munga keen to jackle and earn crucial turnovers for the Saints. This strategy, if used effectively, could result in a couple of easy kickable penalties for Saints in a game likely to come down to the art and craft of goal-kicking.

In saying that, Pollard is excellent at pulling the strings himself, hence why he has led South Africa to two consecutive World Cups. Both fly-halves are excellent goal-kickers and both have a drop-goal or two in their armoury and there is a sense that Leicester’s attack will have grown in confidence, whilst Northampton’s defence will probably have sharpened up a little bit after the narrow victory over Harlequins. There are duels aplenty and attacking threats dotted across the field which makes this a mouthwatering contest. What is certain, though, is that the performances of the respective fly-halves will go a long way to determining the result of this much anticipated encounter.

Match Officials: Referee Anthony Woodthorpe; Touch Judges Jack Makepeace and Greg Macdonald; TMO Andrew Jackson (source: premiershiprugby.com)

Prediction: Leicester Tigers 23-28 Northampton Saints (Northampton will claim their sixth win in 20 matches played at Welford Road since October 2008; there was a draw in May 2013) (source: https://www.flashscore.co.uk/h2h/rugby-union/leicester-tigers-SA46vkrE/northampton-saints-K8qoX6zl/#/overall)

(Tries for Leicester: Ollie Chessum from a pick and go close to the line; Ollie Hassell-Collins on a counter-attack. Handré Pollard will kick two conversions, two penalties and one drop-goal). (Tries for Northampton: Ollie Sleightholme, Temo Mayanavanua and, lastly, Archie McParland from the bench. Fin Smith will kick two conversions, two penalties and one drop-goal). Four league points for Northampton, one league point for Leicester.