3. Fin Smith is his own ‘Harshest Critic’ and was Frustrated after Premiership Final Injury
PHIL DOWSON: “I think you forget that he’s 22. We’ve talked about him loads, he’s mature beyond his years, he’s incredibly ambitious and driven. He’s frustrated, he’s always his harshest critic. So he’s always frustrated with some element of his game that hasn’t gone as well as he would have liked to have done. And that’s where the growth is.
“The fact that he’s always… a bit like Courts, he’s always pushing, he always wants to be better. It’s never quite right, and I think that bodes really well for the future and make sure that we can give him as much guidance around how his game can grow. Yeah, to put the game on his back and to be that playmaker and that fulcrum of our attack, is huge and we obviously love him. We’ve loved him since we watched him at Worcester Warriors, we know what he’s capable of and he’s going to get better.”
4. Lawes and Dowson Praise the exiting Saints, as Lewis Ludlam, Alex Waller & More Depart
COURTNEY LAWES: “It is important to appreciate everyone who has contributed this season. It really has been a squad effort. The people that don’t get to play that you don’t see at the weekend are the ones that do the hard graft. They prepare us and make sure we are ready to go at the weekend. It’s the ending that you obviously want.
“There are not really any words to describe it. We’ve worked so hard this season, it’s been amazing for me to watch the growth of the team and this year especially. Seeing so many young players step up and take the bull by the horns, this team is going places. I look forward to supporting them and watching them along the way.”
PHIL DOWSON: “I think the point that Courts raises, there’s loads of people leaving. You know, and Tom Cruise, all these lads, Cal Braley there’s guys who are moving on who have contributed so much to the group, either from a playing point of view, a training point of view or an environment point of view. So we want to make sure, well, firstly, we wanted to make sure that today was in respect to that.
“Also that, we tried to leave on the right note. As Court said, a whole host of things could have been different, but in this situation, this was the best way to knock on the head and do something different.”