Marcus Smith revealed he traded one golden ticket for another as his British and Irish Lions call-up left him unable to attend England’s Euro 2020 final.
Harlequins fly-half Smith capped a month of mayhem and success by being called up to the Lions as injury cover for Scotland’s Finn Russell.
The 22-year-old playmaker was on the field spearheading England’s 70-14 rout of Canada at Twickenham when the news of his Lions selection broke.
“It’s been a whirlwind few weeks, and a whirlwind 45 minutes to an hour.
“I will try and take it all in, but I don’t think I will until I get out there.
“My team-mates were massively supportive. When I was doing my television interview they were all distracting me.
“If your team-mates respect you as a bloke and a player, that’s the biggest respect you can get, and I am happy.
“Eddie (Jones) just said go out there and enjoy it, take it all in, learn as much as you can and come back a better player.”
