For a burgeoning international player to grow into a consistently top-class talent, the transition between club and country is a skill that must be mastered.
George Ford has had to cope with this for much of his career. The ultimate fly-half chameleon, he — like almost no one else — has flitted between game styles to suit coaches since he emerged as a teenager at Leicester Tigers.
The latest to take on this task is Fin Smith, the 21-year-old Northampton Saint, who made his Test debut during the Six Nations. As the cliché goes, getting selected is the easy bit; now he has to prove his quality back at Franklin’s Gardens.
Smith won two caps against Italy and Scotland, but picked up an injury at Murrayfield
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The first step was to clear his brain, which was full of England plays
