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

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

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

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

. He was born into a

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

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 Civi ...

, 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 Dis ...

in 1936–39, and his uncle,

Jack Walter John Sproule Walter (6 November 1908 – 17 July 1971) was a Canadian middle-distance runner. He competed in the men's 800 metres at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Walter finished fourth in the 1930 British Empire Games The 1930 British Empire G ...

, 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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

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

, 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 count ...

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

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

. 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 st ...

. 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