Along with his flatmates, he decided to subscribe to the Rugby Channel. Just a few hours later, Smith heard his name read out on television as he was named in the 33-man All Blacks team to tour Japan and Europe.
"I was sitting there and heard my name and looked over at my partner, and thought, `Was that my name?' Then it started to sink in and the calls started," he said.
His phone has not stopped ringing as congratulations flood in from far and wide.
Smith (23) will be seen as an old-fashioned bolter in the All Blacks, but has been in sparkling form at fullback for Otago.
It has been a rapid rise for a player who at this time last year had wondered whether he would ever play for any representative side.
He broke his foot near the end of last season and struggled to walk properly as the hairline fracture was slow to heal.
But the injury improved after a screw was placed in his foot.
He played well on the wing for the Highlanders before looking composed at fullback for Otago.
"I've just chipped away throughout the year, worked at parts of my game and it's been coming together all right."
Smith was born and bred in Dunedin, attending Abbotsford Primary School and Kings High School.
He has played for the Green Island club since he was a junior.
Nick Evans was the most recent All Black out of Green Island, in 2007, following Greg Cooper (1992), Merv Jaffray (1976) and Lyn Jaffray (1972).
Smith, who played nearly every position in the backline at school, played rugby in England in his first year out of school before heading home.
His partner is former New Zealand junior basketballer Katie Menzies.
Proud parents Stu and Karen Smith were pleasantly surprised by the news.
Stu Smith said he almost dropped a television set he was installing when he heard his son's name read out.
For the younger Smith, who played for the New Zealand Colts in 2007, it is all a whirlwind.
He will see his university lecturers today to rearrange the two exams he was due to sit for his physical education degree, before heading to Auckland for a three-day All Blacks camp.
All Blacks coach Graham Henry said Smith was picked as a specialist right-winger and praised his skills, saying he was good under the high ball and counterattacked well.
Smith has no preference where he plays - he just wants to "get on the paddock".
