Categories
Fin Smith sets England autumn ultimatum to hit form
Fin Smith sets England autumn ultimatum to hit form
Fin Smith has won 19 caps, making his England debut against Italy in 2024
Marchant set on England comeback after Sale arrival
Dowson admits ambition to step up to Test role
Phil Dowson (right) and Sam Vesty have guided Northampton to two domestic titles and a runners-up finish in the Champions Cup during their time on the staff
Smith's Northampton boss Phil Dowson has said he has aspirations to eventually coach internationally, having racked up four impressive seasons in charge at Franklin's Gardens.
As director of rugby, the 44-year-old has led Saints to two Prem titles and the 2025 Champions Cup final.
That success has shown in England's selections. Northampton provided six players – more than any other club - to England's Nations Championship squad this summer.
"Fundamentally, we are having a great time at Northampton," Dowson said of himself and head coach Sam Vesty.
"From a personal point of view, at some point, we'd like to coach international rugby because it is different.
"There's no timeline on that. That's not just England. It is just the opportunity to go and do something different to test ourselves - either as a team or individually - under different pressure and to have new experiences."
Dowson said there has been no contact from the Rugby Football Union about preparing him for such an opportunity with England.
He prepared a developmental England XV's forwards, external for a fixture against the Barbarians in May 2019, but has not been brought into the fold since.
Vesty, meanwhile, was seconded to be the attack coach for England A's 91-5 rout of Portugal in February 2024. Back in 2017, he also stepped in as skills coach under Eddie Jones for England's summer tour to Argentina.
Both men signed new contract extensions with Northampton in December.
More on this story
England fly-half Fin Smith says an under-par autumn should trigger fundamental questions about the team's direction.
The 24-year-old was asked by Rugby Union Weekly about the state of the team after a miserable Six Nations and a summer campaign that featured a 45-21 defeat by world champions South Africa, a 73-8 thrashing of Fiji and a narrow 31-24 win over Argentina.
"It is so hard to say," replied Smith.
"I am not going to sit here and say 'we are building' because that is what you will get every time.
"We will honestly find out in the autumn. If we have a pretty ropey autumn, on the back of building some momentum over the summer, I think we will need to have a pretty hard look at ourselves."
England will play Australia, Japan and New Zealand on successive weekends in November, before a play-off against a southern hemisphere opponent in the finale of the new Nations Championship competition.
"Playing New Zealand at Allianz Stadium will be a great way to test ourselves," said Smith.
"I think on our day, in front of a big crowd and when we are up for it, we can beat anyone. The last time New Zealand came we had a great result."
England beat the All Blacks 33-19 last November in arguably the high point of head coach Steve Borthwick's near four-year spell in charge.
However the team's form has tailed off in 2026, with only three wins in eight Tests. A chastening 42-21 defeat at home by Ireland and a first-ever loss to Italy were among the low points.
Smith, who has started the past five Tests to establish himself as first-choice stand-off ahead of George Ford and Marcus Smith, says he is getting aligned with the demands of Test rugby and Borthwick's gameplan.
"I have been given a fair bit of licence to put my footprint on the attack and lead a lot of meetings about how I want us to play," he said.
"England are probably set up in a slightly different way. Northampton would probably be slightly more attacking and set up with maybe a slightly lighter-weight forward pack that might be suited to the style of play there.
"England is a little bit more set-piece and arm wrestle and tactical, so I have to adapt my game to suit that as well.
"But most of the time I am just going out there to just play what I see."