Fin Smith has revealed he did not take long to snub rugby’s lucrative breakaway league after he committed his future to Northampton and England.
Smith had been a main target for R360 organisers given his Saints contract had been due to expire this summer and he has become a Test star with both England and the Lions.
This week the RFU and the sport’s other major unions joined forces to say they would ban players from playing Test rugby if they joined the proposed competition which set to start in 2026.
And Smith, who was England No 10 in this year’s Six Nations, didn’t want to give up the chance of playing in a white shirt.
‘I think there will be players at a different stage of their career for who that (R360) will make a lot of sense,’ he said.
‘Going to play less matches for a hefty sum of money is, I’m sure, a pretty attractive proposition. I can understand that. For me, it was something at this moment in time I didn’t consider too much.
Fin Smith had been a main target for R360 organisers given his Saints contract had been due to expire this summer and he has become a Test star with both England and the Lions
His age and talent made him a top target for the rebel league, so his ‘multi-year’ re-signing is not only a coup for Northampton but a boost for national head coach Steve Borthwick
‘My priority was to stay in England, give myself the chance to play for my country and hopefully go to a World Cup.’
Smith, 23, put his future to one side while on Lions duty in Australia.
His age and talent made him a top target for R360, so his ‘multi-year’ re-signing is not only a coup for Northampton but a boost for national head coach Steve Borthwick. R36O is offering top players close to £800,000-a-season to join.
In a letter to players who have agreed to join, R360 responded further to the multi-union statement.
‘If you’re selected and want to play for your country, we will never stand in the way of that honour,’ the letter read. ‘That’s why we have designed bespoke men’s and women’s schedules and international release is written into all your contracts.
‘What we’re building together represents a seismic change for rugby, so it’s unsurprising that initially there’s a resistance from some quarters.
‘We believe passionately about the value R360 will bring players and fans around the world and we’re more excited than ever about building the future our sport needs.’
R360 added they ‘fully expected’ the multi-union statement and it ‘doesn’t change anything in terms of our timeline and plans.’
The 23-year-old said: ‘My priority was to stay in England and hopefully go to a World Cup.’
England will have a plethora of fly-half riches to pick from this autumn with George Ford in fine form at Sale plus Fin and Marcus Smith and the returning Owen Farrell all in the selection mix.
But Elliot Daly looks unlikely to feature for at the start of their November campaign with the experienced full-back ‘three or four weeks’ away from a return to action.
Daly, who turned 33 on Wednesday, broke his arm on Lions duty this summer, the injury forcing him to leave the tour and miss the Test series win over Australia. England start their November matches against the Wallabies on November 1.
But Daly won’t have played a club game before that meeting with the Wallabies.
‘Elliot is probably three or four weeks away to be honest. He broke his arm on the Lions tour and isn’t quite ready yet,’ said Daly’s club boss at Saracens, Mark McCall. ‘He sees the consultant again in two and a half weeks, so that’s the weekend before the Australia international. That gives him half a chance. He obviously won’t have played a match by that point so we’ll have to see how that next appointment with the consultant goes.’
Both Smiths and England’s other leading fit Lions are set to return to PREM Rugby duty this weekend after finishing enforced rest periods.
Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman, Alex Mitchell and Henry Pollock are all set to start for Northampton at home to Leicester. But England and Lions captain Maro Itoje is a doubt for Saracens’ clash with London rivals Harlequins on Sunday.
Itoje reported concussion symptoms after returning from Australia.
Elliot Daly looks unlikely to feature for at the start of England’s November campaign, with the experienced full-back ‘three or four weeks’ away from a return to action
‘He just came a little bit later into his pre-season because of some of the symptoms he had and we just want to do the right thing by him,’ McCall said of Itoje.
‘We’ve got a decision to take on Maro whether or not this weekend has come too soon or whether we wait a week. He’s been on the training park for the past few weeks and we’ll decide by the end of the week whether or not to play him for Sunday.’
