One man who has overseen Smith's rise to prominence is Durham coach Geoff Cook and he believes Smith is ready to take on the captain's role at the Riverside.
Charlie Hodgson "controlled the game" and "showed a lot of maturity, " noted Johnson, who also singled out Dan Ward-Smith, Phil Dowson, Chris Robshaw, Dave Attwood, Geoff Parling, Brad Barritt and David Strettle as others who have pressed their claims.