 He was spotted whilst on a rugby tour to New Zealand and was subsequently offered a scholarship to attend Auckland's Mount Albert Grammar School.His mentor and coach was former Auckland RFU and All Blacks player Bryan Williams, with whom he trained before being brought into the wider Auckland training squad in 2005.After a year playing for Auckland B and the Auckland Sevens team, Smith, under the tutelage of coach Pat Lam, and with the guidance and help of fellow Samoan player Brad Mika, was selected in the 2006 Auckland Air New Zealand Cup squad.