"He was nerveless" - Sir Ian McGeechan backs three England youngsters to be KEY players

What an Autumn. Won back-to-back player of the match awards against Australia and South Africa as he dominated the skies. An incredible impact.

McGeechan said: "He was particularly influential against South Africa in defence because their game is all about territory and pressure, so they always like to go to the air to pressurise the opposition back three, and particularly the full-back, when they are on the front foot.

"For long periods their maul was outstanding and, at one stage, they walked England back some 30 metres. Yet, they struggled to turn that domination into field position because Steward was so imperious under the high ball."

Fear? What’s fear? For better as the series went on and played his hand perfectly against the world champions before delivering the match-winning penalty.

McGeechan said: "Whether it was when England were on the front foot in the first half, or under the pump for long periods after the break, Smith was masterly at breaking up play and keeping the Boks’ defence guessing, which is key to neutering their big hits and blitz defence.

"Smith has an ability to see things early and act late to put players into space, and he did it time and again against the Springboks. As for his mental strength, just look at that last-minute kick – he was nerveless."

A vision of the future, but still has a lot to learn.

McGeechan said: "I don’t think he will displace Ben Youngs at the start of this Six Nations, but Jones will want to bring him through in time for the 2023 World Cup, which is not much more than 18 months away.

"Even though he operated on the back foot for the whole time he was on, he did enough to suggest that he could form a superb long-term partnership with Smith, and the way he tracked play and then showed a clean pair of heels when accelerating away when he got hold of the ball shows that he is arguably a considerably more potent attacking threat than Youngs."