Marcus Smith has revealed his ambition to play abroad in the future but has outlined ways to make the Premiership a more attractive place for England stars amid fears the Harlequins fly-half could join the growing player exodus next year.
Smith, whose contract is up in 2024, is the subject of interest from clubs abroad who have greater spending power than their English counterparts while the Premiership salary cap is trimmed to £5m. The 24-year-old believes enabling Premiership clubs to compete with their European rivals would help stem the flow of England players heading overseas, with Jack Nowell, Sam Simmonds, Luke Cowan-Dickie, David Ribbans and Joe Marchant moving to France after the World Cup and thereby making themselves unavailable for Test selection. He also pinpointed overlaps between club and country fixtures as an issue to be addressed.
