was substituted by Olly Barkley who played in the remaining matches. Noon was solid, if unspectacular and retained his place. Some good performances from Smith in club games saw him come onto the bench for the games against Ireland, Italy and Scotland, gaining two more caps against Italy and Scotland. Smith was then named to the British & Irish Lions squad for the tour of New Zealand ahead of Noon and Barkley. Shortly after this announcement, his father died. He played in the warm-up test against Argentina scoring a try. This game was later granted test status by the IRB. In 2008 there was a great disappointment for Smith because he did not get into the England squad for the mid-year tour to New Zealand. 2006 onwards Following a disappointing 2005/6 season, Smith went to Brisbane, Australia to train with the Brisbane Broncos rugby league team, apparently in an effort to rediscover his form. Smith then regained a regular starting position in the Leicester team with many tries to his name in the 2006/07 season. That year Leicester won the Premiership, with Smith starting the final as Leicester defeated Gloucester. Smith openly admitted to having talks with other clubs over a move for this season. He signed for Montpellier after playing over 180 games for the Tigers. In March 2010, Harlequins announced that they had signed Smith from the start of the 2010/11 season. Smith said after returning to England from a stint with French club Montpellier: “I am really looking forward to coming back to England and joining such a prestigious club, and one which has so much history. It boasts an exciting and young group of English players, some of whom I have been lucky enough to have played with during my time in the Saxons and the Churchill Cup. Quins is a team which is going in the right direction and I want to be a part of it. “I will be joining Quins a year before the World Cup, and I am not afraid to say that one of the reasons I have returned to England is so I can push for a position in next year’s World Cup squad, and I believe Quins, with the players and coaching structure that they have in place, will allow me to achieve that aspiration.” The news comes very soon after Quins had announced that David Strettle, one of