The Fort Worth Press - No divided loyalties for England's Fin Smith despite Scottish family

Both of the Northampton player's parents are Scottish, his late grandfather Tom Elliot played for Scotland and he previously had tentative conversations with Scotland coach Gregor Townsend.

The standout moment of the 22-year-old's fledgling Test career came last week when he marked his eighth cap -- and first start -- with an assured all-round display as England edged out France 26-25 at Twickenham in the Six Nations.

"I had spoken to Gregor a few times about where he thought I was at with my game and stuff, but that option never came fully to the fore," Smith said at England's training base.

He added: "There was a time when there were both options, but for me it was a simple decision that I wanted to be an England rugby player.

"I am English, I've lived in England all my life, wanted to play for England ever since I've been alive, so it was a pretty easy decision."

Smith never met his late grandfather but was aware of his rugby exploits from an early age.

"Growing up, me and my brother would put on his... Scotland cap, so to see all his old ties and blazers was pretty cool," he said.

Smith played a key role in two of England's four tries, including a 79th-minute score by Elliot Daly that paved the way for his match-clinching conversion after talking over kicking duties from the wayward Marcus Smith.

Fin Smith had the advantage of having his Northampton team-mate Alex Mitchell alongside him at scrum-half against France, with two more Saints colleagues, Tommy Freeman and Ollie Sleightholme, on England's wings.

"We are all very aligned with how we see the game," said Smith. "I have played 50-odd games with Mitch now.

"Particularly at the weekend, the last 25 minutes when the pressure was on and we had to make some fairly big game management decisions, having him out there with me made a massive difference and took a bit of weight off my shoulders. The wingers, knowing them like the back of my hand definitely made my job a little bit easier."

England coach Steve Borthwick moved Marcus Smith from fly-half to full-back to allow Fin Smith to start at No 10 against France.

But the Harlequins playmaker had a mixed game, making two handling errors and missing two goal-kicks, though he remained a threat running from deep.

Fin Smith said he and Marcus Smith -- "one of my closest mates in camp" -- could both thrive in the same England side.

"I love playing with him and I think the more we can do that together it's only going to be a good thing for me," he said. "Hopefully he feels the same way as well."

S.Palmer--TFWP