Harry Smith is set to be one of the key players in this autumn’s Ashes series. Whether it’s for England, Wigan or at home, he thrives on responsibility.
“I’VE always wanted to be the number seven for England.”
Harry Smith may not be the only person in the country to have had that goal, but he’s the one currently realising it.
And so far, the shirt has been a tailor-made fit for the 25-year-old raised in Widnes, shining in Wigan and expected to play a big part in England’s Ashes bid.
He only made a full international debut in 2023 but has been ever-present since his bow against France, leading the side to autumn series wins over Tonga and Samoa respectively.
In the first of those, Smith was named player of the series – appropriately so, considering what happened beforehand.
“The last time we’d won a Test series (whitewash) in England was against New Zealand (in 2007) and Rob Burrow got player of the series,” explains Smith.
“He came in and presented my shirt for the last game. It was incredible to see Rob and share that moment with him.
“That was a brilliant experience and I’m trying to follow in his footsteps, with what a great player and person he was.”
So Smith knows full well the significance of being England’s scrum-half, and that will come into sharper focus again later this year, when Australia visit for a first Ashes series in 22 years.
Demand for tickets has been at a level rarely seen for rugby league events. Only Wembley seats remain available, with the second and third matches at Everton (whom Smith supports) and Headingley respectively already sold out.
“It’s brilliant. They’re the best team in the world,” said Smith.
“Their game is massive – the crowds they get, the salary cap, the media coverage. To be able to hopefully get a glimpse of that, be a part of it, and go up against them and test ourselves, I want to get in that team.”
The big question is, can England win it? “No one is unbeatable,” replies Smith. “We definitely have to be at our best if we want to beat them.
“We’ve got to have that connection and camaraderie that we’ve built over the last few years, in the Tonga and Samoa series. You’re not just playing with opposition (club) players, you’re playing with your mate. We’ve got to play well but hopefully we can run with them.”
Remarkably it’s eight years since England last played Australia and seven (or six including Great Britain) since they even faced New Zealand, amid Covid, World Cup failure and the emergence of new top nations.
Smith was part of the standby squad for the home World Cup three years ago – “I was gutted not to get picked but it motivated me more to want to get picked the year after” – as George Williams acted as first receiver and dominant kicker.
Williams is now both skipper and generally acknowledged as being most effective alongside another kicker, partnering Smith in the Samoa series.
While nobody is guaranteed an England spot – form and fitness being fickle things – Smith seems as nailed on as anybody right now. Quite simply, with the possible exception of 34-year-old Marc Sneyd, coach Shaun Wane has no player like him.
The only other half seriously impressing in Super League is Mikey Lewis, the reigning Man of Steel who was squeezed in as an interchange last year. But for all the development in the Hull KR man’s game, their Grand Final loss to Wigan highlighted their differing skillsets, with Smith’s long kicking absolutely pivotal.
Garry Schofield, perhaps the greatest halfback the country has ever produced, frequently bemoaned how few have come through over the past decade, while Wane has cried out to have “ten good halves” to pick from instead of “three or four”.
Smith’s take is an interesting one: “I don’t think there’s a lack of them, they just need to be given more time.
“A lot of Australian halfbacks come over who don’t get given a chance in the NRL and we give them a chance over here. There are so many young (English) halfbacks coming through and they just need to be given time.
“They’re all good players. I think there are plenty out there, it’s just giving them the chance to show what they can do for their team.”
Smith is a good case in point. Rewind the clock to 2021, the first season in which he was a regular starter, and Wigan were struggling under the weight of injuries. Smith and academy contemporaries like Ethan Havard and Liam Byrne were thrust into the side and more than a few fans were wondering if they were good enough.
Three years and seven trophies later, that question has been emphatically answered. But if the Warriors had not held their nerve, who knows where Smith would be now?
“That was very fortunate,” he admits. “Matty (Peet) was assistant coach at the time and he spoke to me about pushing on through, keeping doing what I was doing and hopefully it would turn. That happened and I got the number seven shirt with Matty as head coach.
“It was a tough period. I took a bit of stick because the team wasn’t playing well and the halfback is seen as the main player. If the team isn’t playing well, it falls on them.
“With a lot of senior players out at the time and a very young team, I took a bit of flak which at the time you don’t like but it was definitely a positive to learn from in the long run.
“I’ve been in situations that some other players haven’t been in, on the back foot so much and so young. It’s helped me be the player I am today.”
Smith has always craved the responsibility that comes with being a halfback, since joining Halton Farnworth Hornets at the age of five and being coached by his father for ten years.
“I watched rugby all the time, picked up things and loved the game,” he says. “I just managed to create opportunities for other people and that’s what a halfback does, so I’ve always had that in my game.
“I watched a lot of rugby. I went to Widnes games and I was a ballboy. I loved watching Wigan on telly, and every Saturday morning I’d watch a bit of NRL with my dad. I was always watching the game and imitating people like Matty Smith, Jonny Lomax, (Johnathan) Thurston, (Cooper) Cronk.”
Who does he reckon are the top halfbacks in the world today? “You can’t go past Nathan Cleary. I think Mitchell Moses is very good. Jahrome Hughes is very good. The way they control games and create opportunities for their team-mates, they’re the top three at the minute.”
Unsurprisingly, Smith is too modest to suggest where he himself might place on that list – perhaps we will have to wait until the Ashes, and a potential rematch or three with the “competitive” Cleary following last year’s World Club Challenge win over his Penrith – but he is willing to open up on what makes such a tough role so rewarding.
“It’s a demanding position and they (halfbacks) need to be up there with the best players. They need to be composed and they need to be consistently good,” he says.
“I think that’s why it’s so hard to get into the position. There are so many people who need you to do well quickly.
“There’s no point doing anything if it’s easy. What’s the point in doing it if you don’t enjoy the test and having to compete to win? It’s very enjoyable, and thankfully I’ve had the rewards from it the last few years.”
Wigan have been sweeping all before them, winning six consecutive available trophies before an early Challenge Cup exit this season. But their glittering era really found lift-off on a sunny day at Tottenham three years ago.
Trailing Huddersfield with less than four minutes of the Challenge Cup Final remaining, Smith placed a perfectly-weighted kick in behind the Giants’ defence for Liam Marshall to score the winning try.
“It was the confidence that the staff and my team-mates gave me,” Smith says of the play which arguably shot him to new heights, and says a lot about Wigan’s approach too.
“I went into the final with the mentality of ‘play your game, back yourself, and whatever happens everyone will back each other’. That kick could have not come off and I knew the lads would still have backed me, tried to defend and win the game another way. No one would have had a go at me. For it to come off was obviously brilliant and a great memory.”
After winning the League Leaders’ Shield and Grand Final in 2023, Wigan completed the set with World Club Challenge glory and then a Wembley win in the Challenge Cup, before retaining the league titles for a calendar-year quadruple.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to top that year,” he admits – and with good reason. Last September, a very different kind of responsibility was thrust into his arms when his partner Chloe gave birth to baby Leo.
The little man already has two Wigan kits and has been to several games at The Brick Community Stadium. Like for so many matches, his dad seems to have the gameplan and temperament for this new challenge.
“You just have to get on with it and deal with everything they put in front of you – the wake-ups, the feeding,” he says.
“You pick up quickly what they like and don’t like. It’s being adaptable and cracking on with it. I try not to look at the negative of not being able to sleep as much as I’d like to!
“It has been different for me this year with more responsibility at home, but I think it’s helped me. It takes your mind off the game, which it’s sometimes hard to do as a professional.
“When results go against you, you can think about it and dwell on it too much. Now I’ve got to look after my young son, my missus and a dog as well!”
If he can manage all of that, the keys to the England team will surely be his.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 508 (May 2025)
