Smith, who has five senior caps, said: “It was great to come away with a win against a very strong Irish side. That was great credit to the work we have done during the week.
“It was always going to be forward dominated early on. The sooner you get a foot into the game then the sooner you can get your pattern and your own plays going, and that is what we did.
“We probably let them in for an easy score just before half-time but, credit to the lads, at half-time we sorted ourselves out. In the second half we played some good, flowing rugby and we had been working on that during the week in training.”
The 25-year-old Smith has been in fine form with Leicester Tigers this season and was given responsibility as Saxons vice-captain, with club colleague Jordan Crane leading out the team.
“It is fantastic to be back involved,” Smith said. “I have been out of the England set-up for a while now and it was good to get a game, even as one of the older players on the pitch! I thought we played well as a team.”
As Welford Road welcomed its first international match of this status for 10 years, the evening was made even more special for Smith who grew up watching Tigers from the terraces.
“The opportunity to represent your country on your home pitch does not come around very often so it was something very special for me and the Leicester guys,” he said. “There was a fantastic turn-out again from the crowd too and it all added to the day.”
