'He told me to crack on, I'm super grateful he did that'

The influence of Wales coach Matt Sherratt on a teenage Fin Smith helped set him on his way to the international stage, the talented England fly-half tells Harry Latham-Coyle

- Harry Latham-Coyle

It may be two and a half years since their desperately sad demise but the impact of the Worcester Warriors on this Six Nations is clear. Hope is growing that rugby may return to Sixways in the not-too-distant future, with an encouraging update provided by the relaunched club on Friday, but the lost and listless supporters shorn of their club so suddenly can at least take some degree of solace in seeing several past Worcester favourites shining on the biggest stage.

The Severn splits the cathedral city and on either side of the river, the Warriors spirit is strong. In the England camp, Fin Smith increasingly looks like the fly-half of the present and future, although his reunion with former club colleague Ollie Lawrence has been cut short by the centre’s serious achilles injury which has ended his season. Across the border, Matt Sherratt is reaching the end of an interim stint that has breathed new life back into his adopted nation, the Cardiff coach set to return to club duties having counted two stops at Sixways as vital steps in his unlikely journey from schoolteacher to international interim boss.

It is not overstating it to say that England’s complex fly-half picture might have looked rather different had Sherratt never set foot in Worcester. The talent that Smith possessed was evident as he rose through the ranks but it took an honest chat from the then Warriors backs coach in 2020 to truly drive the attitude and application that a teenage 10 required to quickly achieve bigger things.

“He was my first coach at Worcester,” Smith recalls of Sherratt as he looks ahead to England’s trip to Cardiff on Super Saturday.

“I’ve got a lot to thank him for.