Fin Smith is finally reaping the rewards after moving to Northampton following Worcester’s collapse

Fin Smith is just 20-years-old and is still getting to grips with life in English rugby.

The ground on which he treads is unsteady to say the least. The Gallagher Premiership has been thrown into turmoil this season by financial chaos. Smith knows that better than most.

Now in his third campaign at senior level, he has already experienced more than many players do in their whole careers. The talented fly-half made his Worcester debut at 18 and has a junior Six Nations grand slam with England on his CV. 

Fin Smith is just 20-years-old but is proving himself in English Premiership rugby this season

English-born Smith has starred for Northampton after making the switch from Worcester

This year, he was made unemployed by the demise of the Warriors – a club he joined at 13 – before quickly being snapped up by Northampton who have opted not to renew the contract of Wales captain Dan Biggar in the crucial position of No 10. It has been a busy, worrying time.

No wonder Smith looks at the current Premiership landscape with some trepidation.

‘It’s almost scary – that’s my overriding feeling,’ he told Sportsmail.

Worcester collapsed into administration and were partially liquidated in October

‘It’s scary how the league is going to keep going and where this is going to stop. Two clubs have gone.

‘It makes you think as a young player. Everything that has gone on has shown me that when you’re starting to make a little bit of money, you’ve got to be a bit more sensible nowadays.

‘You can’t always trust you’re going to have a next payday. There are lessons to be learned financially. You can’t be living month-by-month and it makes you start thinking a few years ahead and about what your next steps in life are going to be if it (unemployment) happens again.

Smith linked up with the Saints following Worcester’s financial collapse

‘Hopefully this will be the worst time in my rugby career and now it’s out the way.’

Worcester and Wasps have both fallen by the wayside in the season to date after they entered administration and were then suspended and relegated from the Premiership.

The players and staff at the two sides all lost their jobs.

Some, like Smith, have bounced back but not everyone has been fortunate enough to do so.

‘I’ve been doing homework on the way to Worcester on Tuesday and Thursday nights since I was 13 so it’s more than just a club that has paid the bills for me,’ Smith said.

‘There is a real family connection there. I’ve been going there for a long time and what has happened has been incredibly tough. We all just want the truth.

‘I think it’s inexcusable for the owners to have acted as inhumanely as they have to us. I understand businesses do go under but to not stand up and face the music is inexcusable in my eyes.

‘I don’t think they’ll ever fully appreciate the turmoil they’ve caused on people and their families. I hope the consequences are equal to the stress they’ve put on everyone.’

The fly-half was a product of Worcester’s academy product having been at the club since 13

Disgraced former Worcester owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham took one of English rugby’s proudest clubs into oblivion and tarnished the memory of former Warriors chief Cecil Duckworth.

The Sixways outfit is now looking to start afresh, not that Smith will be there to help.

He had already agreed to join Northampton prior to the crisis at Worcester but the move happened quicker than expected last month. Smith did have offers to join French clubs on short-term deals but wanted to begin his new life at Franklin’s Gardens as soon as possible. A new chapter is now underway.

‘I’m incredibly fortunate to be in the position I’m in,’ Smith said. ‘But it is a bit bittersweet.

Smith admitted he feels angry at Worcester owners for overseeing the club’s collapse

‘You have to look after yourself in times like this but I’ve also got 20 or 30 mates from Worcester who I spent three or four years with who are in a pretty diabolical situation.

‘You can only hope for them that improves. It’s hard for me to look totally to the future knowing they are in the situation they are.’

Smith’s Northampton bow couldn’t have gone much better as he kicked five conversions and a penalty in an impressive 45-31 win over Bristol. And with Biggar exploring an immediate move to French giants Toulon, he is set to be the future of the Saints back-line.

It was only last year that Biggar was seen handing out words of advice to Smith after Northampton hammered Worcester in a clip that went viral on social media.

Wasps have followed Worcester, who were the first Premiership club to enter administration 

‘I’ve thought about it and I can’t view it as me replacing Dan,’ Smith said.

‘Any replacement for one of the best fly-halves in the world is going to be a slight downgrade! I’ve got to look at it as a massive opportunity. Northampton are looking to the future so hopefully in a few years I can be playing at somewhere near that level and pushing for the heights Dan is at now.

‘I need to disassociate from the idea I’m going to be at British & Irish Lions level straight away.’

Smith continued: ‘Everyone has been joking Dan was telling me to come to Northampton when we had that chat. It was him putting his arm around me because he’d seen what a tough night I’d had.

Smith will replace Wales international Dan Biggar who will leave the club next year

‘I’ve got massive respect for him for helping me like that. When we played Northampton six months later, I got knocked out. He came and sat with me in the doctor’s room after the match.

‘I’ve been joking with him he was using me to look like the good guy!’

Smith tasted NatWest Cup glory at Twickenham with Warwick School and also played junior club rugby for Shipston-on-Stour. He is one of English rugby’s brightest prospects and is now part of an enterprising and young Northampton back-line which could represent the Saints for years to come.

Smith has already caught the eye of England head coach Eddie Jones, but Scotland boss Gregor Townsend is also an admirer. Smith was part of the England Under-20 side which claimed a Six Nations clean sweep in 2021 but remains eligible for both nations at senior level.

England head coach Eddie Jones is monitoring Smith’s performances at club level

Smith was born in Warwick but his grandfather Tom Elliot played for Scotland and the Lions.

‘The opportunity to play international rugby is massive,’ said Smith, who is balancing his burgeoning rugby career with an economics degree at the Open University over a six-year period.

‘My family is all Scottish so there is support from that side. I don’t think I’m at the stage of my career just yet to be making any decisions. I’m not happy with where I’m at.

‘I want to keep developing my game and then hopefully that decision will make itself.

But so is Scotland coach Gregor Townsend with Smith able to play for either side at senior level

‘I had a conversation with Eddie last year about where I was at with my game. It was in the summer after I guess a bit of a breakthrough season for me. Some of the players from my age group were getting into the senior squad so it was more a question from me about how I can get to that level.

‘He gave me some honest feedback and I’ve tried to take that forward. I’ve also had some good conversations with Gregor about my game and what he wants to see more of from me.

‘We’ve had conversations about where they’re maybe viewing me in their thinking. That was good and it’s nice to get feedback but I don’t want to pull the trigger too early on anything that might potentially be a rash decision based on emotion. It’s nice to feel you’ve been acknowledged.

‘It gives you a hunger as before those sorts of conversations happen, you feel your ceiling is maybe just playing well at club level. It’s definitely pushing me to aim for higher honours.’