Returning Smith on mission to lift Rhinos

They take on Catalans Dragons on Easter Monday lifted – slightly – by a 20-20 draw with Bradford Bulls which arrested their alarming three-match losing run.

England winger Smith proved decisive in that contest, scoring twice on a dream return to Headingley Carnegie following a miserable spell in rugby union with Wasps.

He slid over for the equalising score in the 76th minute as troubled Leeds fought back from

20-6 down on Thursday night but Smith admitted the late heroics covered a multitude of sins in their error-strewn performance.

"The team didn't play too well at all," said the 23-year-old, who had only re-joined the struggling Rhinos the day before.

"We all know that. We left it late until the last 20 minutes before we got going and we can't afford to do that in games.

"It is a start though. There's a draw there and we haven't lost.

"A lot of people were down in the dumps in the dressing room but at the end of the day we've got to put a smile back on our faces, get out there and get a win against Catalans."

Smith also scored twice on his last Leeds appearance, in the Grand Final triumph over St Helens, but a lot has changed at the club since that glorious October night.

While he was trying to carve out a new career in London, his former team-mates lost five of their opening eight Super League fixtures to slip outside of the play-off spots and, beset by injuries, a crisis had been emerging at Headingley.

But Smith was enduring his own problems with Wasps where he made only two appearances in five months and, due to family reasons, he secured a release from his three-year deal last Tuesday.

The following morning he was unveiled as a Leeds player again and, after a brief training session, was thrust straight back into the starting line-up for the derby with Bradford.

As returns go, it could not have gone much better.

"It was brilliant," admitted the Morley-born player, who quickly had the Leeds faithful singing his name once more.

"The crowd at Headingley have always been good and were brilliant to me again.

"I'm really grateful for them accepting me back.

"Personally it was good to score two tries and hopefully I can put a few more good performances in and get over that line a few more times for them.

"But I don't paint myself as being the saviour or someone who is going to turn the club around, not at all.

"If I can add a little bit to the team spirit and get that back up then great.

"After that last 20 minutes against Bradford we showed what we can do and we can kick on."

Smith's first taste of that West Yorkshire derby had come five years earlier when the promising youngster made only his third start in Leeds colours.

He recalled scoring an early try in the same corner as Thursday night, getting the better of Bulls legend Lesley Vainikolo.

However, they went on to lose 42-10 on a night when classy Bradford – who like Leeds now had suffered some real form problems – kick-started their own campaign, embarking on a thrilling winning run which saw them historically take the Super League crown from third position, defeating Leeds in the final.

The Rhinos may not have won on Thursday but the draw could prove just as crucial in turning their season around and the visit to Perpignan gives them an opportunity to quickly build on that.

Captain Kevin Sinfield made a successful return from injury against Bradford while Kylie Leuluai and Brett Delaney were also back from illness meaning the three-times champions are in their best shape for some time.

The logistics of the trip are not ideal with Leeds needing to charter a plane to fly them into the south of France tomorrow although, equally so, Catalans were in action at Huddersfield only last night.

Smith said: "It's a quick turnaround but personally I'm not bothered.

"I'm looking forward to it as I need to get as many games as possible under my belt to get back in to the swing of things.

"I'd not played a so-called competitive game for quite a number of weeks before the match with Bradford so need to get out there again.

"It's going to be tough in France and it's probably the hardest way to go over Easter but as a champion team we've got to do it the hard way and we will."