Dillon Smit (born in

Bethal Bethal () is a farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The farms in the region produce maize, sunflower seeds, sorghum, rye and potatoes. The town lies east of Johannesburg on the N17 National Route. History The town originated on an old farm ...

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 ...

) is a South African

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 ...

player for the

Houston SaberCats The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its fi ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR). He previously played for the in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

, the in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

and the in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is scrum-half, but he can also play as a winger.

Career

Youth (Pumas)

Smit went to Hoërskool Middelburg, which is in the Pumas Rugby Union's catchment area. He represented Pumas youth teams at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2008 and at the premier high school rugby union competition in South Africa, the Under-18 Craven Week in both 2009 and 2010.

Border Bulldogs

After high school, Smit moved to

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 f ...

where he joined the . He was named in their senior squad for the

2012 Vodacom Cup The 2012 Vodacom Cup was played between 10 March and 18 May 2012 and was the 15th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions, ...

competition, but failed to make a matchday squad. In the second half of the season, he made ten appearances for the side during the

2012 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2012 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 13 July to 27 October 2012. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Division A There are seven p ...

and scored four tries, which included a brace in their match against the s. His side finished bottom of Group A and had to play in a relegation play-off against the Group B winners, . Smit played the full 80 minutes as Border ran out 21–15 winners to retain their Group A status. He was once again named in their senior squad for the

2013 Vodacom Cup The 2013 Vodacom Cup was played between 9 March and 18 May 2013 and was the 16th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First ...

competition and this time he did get some playing time; he made his first class debut in their opening match of the season, coming on as a second-half replacement in their 6–72 loss to the in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. He also played off the bench in their matches against

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

side in Stellenbosch and in Paarl. He was also included in their squad for the

2013 Currie Cup First Division The 2013 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 29 June to 11 October 2013. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) is the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competiti ...

competition and made his debut in the Currie Cup in a 26–22 victory over the in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...

. His first appearance in a home match came in their next game against eventual champions, the in a 20–38 loss. Smit also featured in nine matches for a side that lost all twelve of their matches during the

2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2013 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Group A There are seven part ...

Group A, but he scored a crucial try in their 23–21 victory against the s in the relegation play-off. He left the Border Bulldogs at the end of 2013, having made five appearances, all of them as a replacement.

Leopards / NWU Pukke

He moved to

for the 2014 season and scored two tries in eight substitute appearances for their university side, the , in the

2014 Varsity Cup The 2014 Varsity Cup was contested from 3 February to 7 April 2014. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...

, helping his side all the way to the final. He kicked a conversion and a penalty in the final against , but it wasn't enough as UCT won the title in dramatic fashion, fighting back from 33–15 down with five minutes to go to achieve a 39–33 victory. After the Varsity Cup, he also made a single appearance off the bench for the in the

2014 Vodacom Cup The 2014 Vodacom Cup was played between 7 March and 16 May 2014 and was the 17th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. This edition of the Vodacom Cup was played between fourteen provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Cu ...

competition against in an 8–32 defeat in

Klerksdorp Klerksdorp () is located in the North West Province, South Africa. Klerksdorp, the largest city in the North West Province, is located southeast of Mahikeng, the provincial capital. Klerksdorp was also the first capital of the then Transvaal Repub ...

. For 2014, the South African Rugby Union introduced a

2014 Currie Cup qualification The 2014 Currie Cup qualification series was a tournament organised by the South African Rugby Union. It featured seven teams and was played in June and July 2014, with the winner qualifying for the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division. The remaining ...

competition, with the winner earning a spot in the

2014 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 76th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 9 August to 25 October 2014. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the ...

. Smit was included in the Leopards' squad for this competition and made his first senior start in their opening match of the competition, a 51–23 victory over the . He retained the number nine jersey for the rest of the competition, starting in all six of the matches. He scored his first career try in the Leopards' 70–25 win over the , followed that up by two tries in their next match, a 55–23 win over the , and also scoring one try in the Leopards' final match of the tournament, a 103–15 demolition of his former side, the . The Leopards finished second in the competition, with a 32–33 defeat to in Round Three condemning them to finish behind the men from

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and therefore progressing to the

2015 Currie Cup First Division The 2015 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 29 August to 8 October 2015. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union compet ...

. Smit made three starts during the group stages of the competition, scoring a brace of tries in their final match against the in a 50–29 victory as the Leopards topped the log. He also started their semi-final match against the Falcons, with the team from the

East Rand The East Rand is the urban eastern part of the Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation in South Africa. The region extends from Alberton in the west to Nigel in the east, and south down to Nigel. It includes ...

running out surprise 31–24 winners to eliminate the Leopards from the competition. He again started off the 2015 season playing

Varsity Cup Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each univers ...

rugby for the . He started all nine their matches and scored five tries as they matched their 2014 performance, making it all the way to the final. However, they once again finished as runners-up, this time losing 33–63 to the Bloemfontein-based . Smit's performances didn't go unnoticed and he was named in a Varsity Cup Dream Team after the competition. He played in the team's match against the South Africa Under-20 side, scoring a second-half try in a 24–31 loss for the students. He also played in the Leopards' final match of the

2015 Vodacom Cup The 2015 Vodacom Cup was contested from 6 March to 30 May 2015. The tournament was the 18th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South Africa ...

season against in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Lions

In May 2015, Smit was named on the bench for the '

match against the in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smit, Dillon South African rugby union players Living people 1992 births People from Bethal Rugby union scrum-halves Rugby union wings Border Bulldogs players Leopards (rugby union) players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Golden Lions players Houston SaberCats players Rugby union players from Mpumalanga