Andy Goode says Fin Smith can win the day in Champions Cup

South Wales Argus

23-05-2025

The Northampton Saints, England and now British & Irish Lions No.10 will be going head-to-head with one of the most exciting fly-halves on the planet in Bordeaux-Bègles star Jalibert in a match which will be shown live on Premier Sports 1.
It will be their first meeting since the Guinness Six Nations, when Smith earned Player of the Match honours at Allianz Stadium in his first Test start as England got the better of eventual champions France.
Goode will get the perfect spot to judge the battle between Smith and Jalibert in the Principality Stadium, as he is part of the 15-strong Premier Sports TV punditry team delivering the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup for Premier Sports, the new broadcasters of international club rugby's premier competitions.
And Goode, a two-time Champions Cup-winning fly-half in his playing days, believes that Smith's vision and ability not to make mistakes could prove crucial as Saints look to follow up their stunning semi-final victory over Leinster by downing their French opponents in Cardiff.
'Man for man, I'd probably take Fin Smith. Jalibert is a wonderful player, he's got game-changing ability, he can turn a situation from his own 22 into a try-scoring opportunity at the other end,' said Goode.
'His highlights reel might be more entertaining on Instagram than Fin Smith, but for an appreciation of a rugby player, I'd back Fin Smith every time.
'Some players, we look at highlight clips and X-factor. You look at pace and footwork, and handling ability, offloading game and all that sort of stuff. But sometimes quickness of the brain is just as important. I talk about my own game, I didn't have any pace but as a 10, you find ways to be a difference maker.
'Fin Smith's quickness of thought and understanding of the game is something that stands him out above a lot of other players. His short kicking game is world class and that is part of the quickness of thought. Sometimes it's not all about the flash and making the line breaks, sometimes it's analysing the defence and seeing where there is an opportunity and acting upon it.
'Fin Smith has got every part of his game that you want without looking at a Jalibert, who can make breaks from 50 yards out, he's got great pace and great footwork. But he can be prone to the odd error here or there, which Fin Smith hasn't really got in his game.
'It's a mercurial fly-half in Jalibert coming up against a really classy, all-round fly-half in Fin Smith, who kicks well, tackles well, does the basics really well, has great vision. He wouldn't necessarily be someone that you would look at as a fly-half who is going to make scintillating breaks, but what he does is make holes for those around him, which works really well as a 10 in that Northampton.'
Saints come into the game seeking to win the competition for the first time in 25 years, while Bordeaux have never reached the final before.
One man who is familiar with this stage is Saints attack coach Sam Vesty, who reached two finals in his playing days with Leicester Tigers.
And Goode believes his former teammate is one of the secret weapons that has allowed Northampton to reach this point.
He added: 'I played with Sam a lot, he's a good mate of mine. His coaching rise has been remarkable really. He was at Worcester and then has moved to Northampton. He's done England bits as well, across the board he's one of the most highly thought of young coaches in the game now.
'He's a brilliant bloke and you hear how the Saints players react to him, in terms of wanting to try stuff. He encourages stuff and says mistakes will happen but they don't matter as long as you try to improve yourself.
'It shows with how they play and the skill level across the board of Saints boys, it's really stepped up over the last couple of years and Sam has been integral to that.
'He's always been an intelligent rugby player. He would probably say it himself, as a player, he probably wasn't blessed with speed or an X-factor in terms of beating players. But he certainly had an X-factor in terms of rugby IQ and knowledge and his brain in how to set up a team to find weaknesses in defence.
'He was really astute in that, whether he played 10, 12 or 15. His nickname was 'Square Wheels' at Leicester, amongst other things. He was such an integral player and you could tell he was going to be a coach of some decent level just because of his rugby brain.'
Premier Sports is the home of Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup with 80 games live throughout the competition including this weekend's Finals on 23 and 24 May live from Principality Stadium, Cardiff. Visit: www.premiersports.com to sign-up for all the action from URC, Top 14, MLR, Japan League One and EPCR rugby at just £11.99 per month.