Sunday 25 March 2018 17:20, UK
Marcus Smith is focused on a strong finish to the season with Harlequins but admits it is his dream to pull on an England shirt in the future.
Smith was named Young Sportsperson of the Year at the 2018 British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards [BEDSAs] on Saturday after a whirlwind rise, which has seen the youngster regularly called up to England training squads by Eddie Jones.
He signed his first professional contract with Harlequins in January, aged 18, and the Manila-born fly-half says his journey in rugby has been an "unreal experience".
"I guess it's every English kid's dream to play for England," Smith told Sky Sports News.
"But my main focus right now is actually playing for Harlequins and hopefully I can put in the performances for Quins that I am happy with and he [Jones] is happy with and then we'll take it from there really.
"It's absolute class working under Eddie Jones. He pushes you hard. He tries to get the best out of you but I have enjoyed every minute learning under guys like Owen Farrell, George Ford, other guys like my club-mates Danny Care, Mike Brown.
"It's been an absolutely unreal experience and hopefully that will stand me in good stead going forward."
Maro Itoje was also a winner at the BEDSAs and the Saracens and England lock insists Jones has improved him immensely and is one of the best coaches in the world.
"I think Eddie is one of the best coaches I have worked under," Itoje told Sky Sports News.
"I have learnt a lot about myself, I have learnt a lot about what high-performance means and what it is all about. To be honest, and to put it frankly, he is one of the best coaches in the world.
"Obviously we went through a tricky patch [after an underwhelming Six Nations campaign] and well - the press are the press - but as a group we don't pay too much attention to that. We'll stick together as a squad and we'll be okay."
