By KEITH McGHIE
GRAND FINAL-winning scrum-half Harry Smith continued his ultra-reliable kicking to help England secure the Test series against Tonga at the John Smith’s Stadium and then paid tribute to his kicking coach and former rugby union international Paul Grayson for his sparkling end to the year.
Smith, hugely influential in Wigan’s run to the Super League title with his near-faultless late-season work from the tee and positional punts, experienced a rare miss but still landed three goals to put the tight and tense second Test beyond the Pacific islanders.
The 23-year-old Widnes-born halfback, three times an Academy Grand Final victor with the Warriors, reflected on private kicking sessions with Northampton Saints’ all-time leading points scorer Grayson, saying: “They helped 100 percent.
“Not so much with my confidence, which was always there, but just little details that we’d go through – just talking through the kick and being able to discuss it with someone who knows what I’m going through.
“Talking through the mentality behind goal-kicking, having a conversation with someone who’s done it at the highest level (Grayson was part of the famous 2003 England World Cup winning squad in the 15-man code), was really good for me.
“And it’s obviously showing in how successful I’ve managed to be over the last few weeks.
Smith’s goal kicking display in the opening Test at St Helens also enabled England to keep a fired-up Tonga at arm’s length and, despite doubts from various quarters about his accuracy mid-season and the form of his fellow comparative newcomer to the England set-up, Mikey Lewis, Smith is confident of keeping the number seven shirt.
Coach Shaun Wane has confirmed that captain George Williams will play at Headingley on Saturday after sitting out the first two games through suspension, likely at the expense of either Lewis or Smith.
“You can only do what you can do. Hopefully I’ve done enough to keep the spot for the last game,” Smith continued.
“Now we can just go away and enjoy this Test win, and hopefully next week will take care of itself.”
