Northampton Saints sign NFL hopeful who posted ‘the best gym scores seen in years’

Northampton Saints have bolstered their squad with a former NFL prospect, adding 6ft 8in lock George Smith to the roster for the upcoming season.

Smith, 23, who weighs 21st 10lb [138kg] and represented Coventry in the Championship last year, was in the same NFL international pathway class that saw Louis Rees-Zammit snapped up by Kansas City Chiefs.

However, during a short trial stint at Saints at the end of 2023-24, Smith demonstrated a level of power that led the Premiership champions to officially sign the towering forward.

“George’s superpower is that he is 6ft 8in and he can move really quickly,” said Phil Dowson, Northampton’s director of rugby.

“The guy is unbelievably physical. When he first arrived, we tested him and his power-per-kilogram scores were incredible – the best we’ve seen in years.

“He is a bright lad and got stuck in from the word go. We’ve got someone who is physical, smart and can play the game.

“George comes from a totally different background, there’s no academy history for him. He played well for Coventry in the Premiership Rugby Cup against Saracens and also scored against Gloucester.”

Before joining Coventry in 2022, Smith represented Bristol-based Redcliffians in the fifth tier and earned selection for Somerset in the Bill Beaumont County Championship.

He was a colleague of Harry Mallinder, an ex-Saint, as well as Rees-Zammit in the NFL player pathway, but jumped at the chance to move back to the United Kingdom.

“I was out in America but it just wasn’t really for me,” said Smith. “I wanted to pursue rugby more than American football. Shieldsy [Paul Shields, head of recruitment and retention] rang me up asking if I wanted to come in, train with the boys and see if it was the right fit. It felt like home from day one.

“Everyone was really welcoming and Phil Dowson made it clear he wanted me to sign, so it was a good first few days. I don’t want to be playing anywhere else.

“I took away a lot of things from the NFL experience. I am a much better athlete now than I was six, seven months ago. In terms of my athletic development, it was massive. It has only pushed me to become bigger, stronger and quicker.”

Northampton have become renowned for their opportunistic recruitment and development of rough diamonds, which will be put to the test this year given their need to replenish up front.

Just this week, it was announced that Sam Matavesi had left the club to join Lyon, with Courtney Lawes, Alex Moon and Lewis Ludlam also among those to have traded the East Midlands for France after landing the Premiership title.

Josh Kemeny, a back-five workhorse and two-cap Wallaby, and Tom West, the well-travelled loosehead prop, are among Northampton’s other signings, with Archie Benson arriving from Luctonians and Fyn Brown from Doncaster Knights. Luke Green, the tighthead prop, was acquired from San Diego Legion.