Under Smith, Northampton have won 11 of 14 matches including an acrimonious Zurich Premiership clash with the Irish in December. Smith, however, was on holiday and missed the game.
Neither side has won the Cup before. Irish were in the final in 1980 when they were beaten by Leicester. Northampton have played the final twice and seven players survive from their defeat by Wasps in 2000.
Australia hope to learn today that they have won the bid to stage the 2003 Rugby World Cup instead of co-hosting the event with New Zealand. If Australia are given the Cup they will use Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth as the main staging cities with a final in Sydney.
