Alan Edward Smith (born 10 December 1942) is a retired New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer, who played for the

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

team as a

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. He was born into a

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family in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

, a small settlement east of Stratford, and received his secondary education at Stratford Technical High School.

Career

Smith's father, E. C. Smith, represented

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

in 1936–39, and his uncle, Jack Walter, was a 1925 All Black rugby player. Smith took up rugby early, and in 1962 was selected for the Taranaki rugby football team, aged 19. He played for the New Zealand under 23 side which toured Australia in 1963, and first trialled for the All Blacks in 1965. He was selected for the All Blacks for the 1967 tour of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

where he first donned the black jersey. However, due to the dominance of the Meads brothers ( Colin and

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) and stiff competition from Sam Strahan of Manawatu, Smith couldn't get a look-in for the test matches. In 1968 Smith was omitted from the All Black team which toured

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and played France at home, but after a good 1969 trial, and stellar performance leading Taranaki to a 9–9 draw with

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, Smith was recalled in favour of Strahan. He made his test debut against Wales on 31 May 1969, in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, and went on to play the second test as well, both of which the All Blacks won resoundingly. Smith played the first test match of the All Black tour of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1970, but missed out on selection for the remaining matches. He played four more games while in South Africa, but these proved to be his last for the All Blacks. In four years Smith played 18 matches for the All Blacks, 3 of which were test matches. He scored 1 try against South African Country in

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. Smith's 1971 season was plagued by injury, but he managed an appearance for Taranaki against the touring British Lions. This was his last match for Taranaki, retiring after 9 years and 82 games for the "Amber & Blacks". As well as being a top-level rugby player Smith excelled in

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. After retiring from rugby he focused on his pace bowling and played for the Taranaki cricket team in the late 1970s. Apart from sport, Smith has carried on the management of the family farm in Douglas where he lives with his wife Christine.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Alan New Zealand international rugby union players 1942 births Living people Rugby union players from Stratford, New Zealand People educated at Stratford High School, New Zealand Rugby union locks