'The most horrific week, I stressed all day'

DRAMA OF LIONS ANNOUNCEMENT LEFT FIN IN EMOTIONAL TURMOIL

- Adam Hathaway

FIN SMITH has revealed that the horror show of a lead-up to the biggest day of his rugby life - when he got picked by the Lions ~ nearly broke him.

Unlike most squad announcements players are completely in the dark and, true to tradition, head coach Andy Farrell, below, did not give anyone a heads-up ahead of Thursday’s reveal.

The fly-half, whose grandfather, Tom Elliot, was a Lion in 1955, was no certainty with Finn Russell, Marcus Smith, Sam Prendergast, Jack Crowley, George Ford and Owen Farrell in the mix. Northampton’s Smith watched tour manager Ieuan Evans read out the names on TV at Saints’ training complex with other contenders such as Alex Mitchell, Henry Pollock and Tommy Freeman.