Garry Smith is a New Zealand

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s who played for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

and 1970 World Cups, as a , or .

Playing career

Smith originally played for the Runanga club on the West Coast, representing the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

.Team of Century Week 8
''Wellington Rugby League'' Following a failed transfer to Sydney, Smith joined Marist in the

Wellington Rugby League Wellington Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Greater Wellington region. It is responsible for the local competition of the same name, as well as its representative team, the Wellingto ...

competition. He won premierships with the club in 1965 and 1971. For the 1971 premiership, Smith was also the club's captain-coach.

Representative career

Having already played for the

, Smith became a

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

representative when he moved to Marist. In 1965 Smith was selected for the North Island rugby league team and the following year he was first selected for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

, playing in two losses to

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 ...

. In 1967 he toured Australia, playing in only one test but ten of the seventeen tour games. He played in the 1968 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and in the 1970 World Cup in Great Britain. In his final season for New Zealand, Smith was a key part of the Grand Slam Kiwis, playing in all seven tests as New Zealand defeated

24-3 and won three-test series against Great Britain 2-1 and France 2 wins and a draw. He finished his career having played in a total of sixteen tests for New Zealand and thirty nine games.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Garry Living people New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players Place of birth missing (living people) Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Wellington rugby league team players Year of birth missing (living people) West Coast rugby league team players Runanga players North Island rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches