After delivering a stinging response to his critics by leading Wigan to Grand Final glory last week, Harry Smith is relishing the prospect of winning his second England cap in the first match of a three-test series against Tonga on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Wigan stand-off played an increasingly pivotal role in his club’s surge to the Super League title, culminating in kicking six points in their 10-2 win over Catalans at Old Trafford last weekend in the Betfred Grand Final.
It marked a glittering end to the season for Smith, who missed out on the prestigious Harry Sunderland man-of-the-match trophy by a single vote, and was all the more impressive given early season concerns over his inconsistency with the boot.
Ahead of the clash at St Helens’ Totally Wicked Stadium, Smith told the PA news agency: “I’m very happy with how the season went in terms of leadership and game management, and winning the confidence of my team-mates and (Wigan head coach) Matt Peet.
“I got a bit of stick due to my kicking, and some of it was probably a bit unfair. I thought my overall performance, creating stuff for the team, was really good.
“I never really over-thought it. I knew the work I was putting in would pay off, and I just had to keep looking forward and not backwards. I feel like I’ve really managed to make those improvements in the last few months.”
Smith made his only previous England appearance in a one-sided 64-0 thrashing of France earlier this year and knows his side face a different proposition against a Tonga squad stacked with talent from Australia’s NRL.
In the absence through suspension of regular captain George Williams, Smith is set to form a new half-back partnership with Hull KR’s Mikey Lewis, one of two potential debutants in coach Shaun Wane’s 19-man matchday squad alongside Leeds’ Harry Newman.
For more experienced members of the squad, the series represents the chance to finally shrug off any lingering disappointment from last year’s dramatic golden point World Cup semi-final defeat to Samoa at the Emirates Stadium.
Smith added: “The Samoa game has not been mentioned much, because there’s obviously quite a lot of players in the squad who were not involved, but there are definitely some who still have that bitter feeling.
“It’s more about how we can move on with the aim of getting to a World Cup final in the future. It’s why we take up the sport, to play in the biggest games, and the difference between this and the France game is obvious.
“You can feel it in training, the intensity is much bigger than before the France game, because not only are you surrounded with really good players, but you know how good those are who you are coming up against.”
St Helens full-back Jack Welsby has been handed the honour of becoming England’s youngest ever captain on his home ground and will come face-to-face with domestic team-mate Will Hopoate in the opposite position.
Saints team-mate Tommy Makinson is another survivor from the Samoa nightmare and he believes Welsby’s ascent to the captaincy, in place of the now-retired Sam Tomkins, has been an inevitability for some time.
“I’m really proud first and foremost,” said Makinson. “It’s been coming and in his performances over the past two or three years, we’ve all seen what Jack can do.
“He’s a back-to-back Man of Steel candidate and all the accolades have come his way. He’s not really very vocal, but he’s honest, hard-working and more than anything he’s a good bloke, and that’s why everyone respects him.”
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
Sammy lauds Hope’s knock but urges stronger bowling effort ahead of ODI decider against England
West Indies white-ball coach Darren Sammy was both encouraged and frustrated after his team’s five-wicket loss to England in the second ODI in North Sound, Antigua, on Saturday.
Despite a standout batting performance that saw West Indies post a formidable 328-6, Sammy believes missed opportunities in the bowling department ultimately handed England the edge. England chased down the total with relative ease, finishing on 329-5 with captain Liam Livingstone’s masterful unbeaten 124 leading the way.
“It is tough. Obviously, when you put 328 on the board, you expect to win. However, that is the beauty of international cricket; at the halfway stage, when one aspect of the job is done, you can never be complacent about it. Yes, Liam Livingstone played a brilliant innings to get his team home, but I thought as a bowling group our execution was really off, hence we lost a record chase here in Antigua,” Sammy said in a post-game interview.
While disappointed with the loss, Sammy found reasons for optimism, particularly in captain Shai Hope’s exceptional 117—his 17th ODI century—which was the highlight of the innings and pushed him to joint third on the all-time West Indies ODI century list.
Hope received ample support from Keacy Carty (71) and Sherfane Rutherford (54), whose solid contributions underscored the team’s depth in the middle order.
“I think we did some really good things; Shai Hope another 100, the joint fourth most by a West Indian, the way Keacy Carty batted, as well as Sherfane Rutherford making a fourth-consecutive 50. The way Matthew Forde bowled and the way Roston Chase came back after being put under pressure in the second over,” Sammy reasoned.
“So we were right in the game until the last 10 overs, where I think they scored 100 off seven overs; that is not good enough. But I think as a team, it is about understanding where we are at and the small steps that we have to take to improve,” he noted.
With Livingstone anchoring England’s chase alongside contributions from Phil Salt (59), Jacob Bethell (55), and Sam Curran (52), Sammy acknowledged that the West Indies bowling attack could have been more effective in applying pressure to seal the win after Hope’s brilliance.
“I think Shai will be the first one to tell you that it (his knock) doesn’t matter because it came off a losing cause. But, as I said before, Shai Hope is a class act and one of our icons in ODI cricket, but I know he would want nothing more than a win instead of a hundred.
“Again, it (the overall performance) shows that we are still far off but we are making little strides that will help us along our way with the goal that we have moving forward,” Sammy explained.
With the three-match series now tied 1-1, Sammy expressed hope that West Indies will bring their best game to the decider in Barbados on Wednesday.
“This is a rivalry, so we have all to play for at home. The last time we played in Barbados, we made history and won, so I am hoping we can again. It is two young teams looking to develop and get better in ODI cricket. Again, it is all to play for, so if the fans come out and support, in return, we have to give you guys something to smile about in Barbados,” Sammy ended.
England 'banging on the door' of rugby's elite, says proud Borthwick
Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.
England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.
Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.
England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.
But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.
Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.
Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.
"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
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