Fin Smith trains fully and edges closer to England's Australia opener

Fin Smith is on course to start England’s autumn opener against Australia at Allianz Stadium on Sunday after training fully with his team-mates for the first time since injuring his calf on Northampton duty against Leicester on October 24.

The 24-year-old fly-half came through Wednesday’s session without setbacks, and head coach Steve Borthwick is expected to name his team on Friday. England’s defence coach Richard Wigglesworth said the squad would monitor Smith’s physical response over the next 24 hours before confirming his availability.

“Fin trained and got through all right so we’re cautiously optimistic that he’s available for selection,” Wigglesworth said. “We’ll need to see what the next 24 hours are like in terms of his reaction, but he did well in training. We’re pretty optimistic.”

Smith reclaimed the England number 10 jersey from George Ford during the final two rounds of this year’s Six Nations and has started the last five Tests in the position. Wigglesworth highlighted the competition for the role as a driver of Smith’s continued development.

“He’s in great form. He’s made a real difference to us in the last couple of Test matches,” Wigglesworth said. “He’s in a great spot to play and you need to be as a fly-half for England because you have George Ford and Marcus Smith there as well.”

Number eight Ben Earl added his endorsement, describing Smith as a player who has been “in unbelievable form for a number of years” and expressing confidence in what he showed during Wednesday’s session.

“He’s a class, class player,” Earl said. “He deserves to be given the time to give himself the best chance to play. He looked very good in training and I’m looking forward to seeing him go.”

Smith’s likely return is a significant boost for England as they look to carry momentum from the wins over Fiji and Argentina that rescued their July tour. His combination of game management, defensive intensity, and flat-line attacking play has made him the clear first choice under Borthwick, with Ford and Marcus Smith providing depth at the position.