Cornelius Michael 'Nelie' Smith (8 May 1934 – 2 May 2016) was 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 and coach.

Playing career

Smith made his provincial debut at scrumhalf for

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

during the 1956 season and went on to play 60 matches for Orange Free State, captaining them 37 times. He also played four matches for

Griqualand West Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, wh ...

. He made his test debut for the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

during the Australian rugby tour of 1963 in the third test on 24 August 1963 at the Ellis Park 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 ...

. South Africa lost the match 9–11, with Smith scoring all nine points. Smith scored twelve points in seven test matches for South Africa and captained the team in four tests. He also played in twelve tour matches and scored a further nine points for the Springboks.

Test history

Coaching career

Smith coached numerous teams, both in South Africa and internationally. His first big success as a coach was in 1976, when he and Sakkie van Zyl, coached the Orange Free State to its first

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 ...

title. He was the Springboks coach in 1980 when the Springboks defeated Billy Beaumont's

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

and in 1981 he was the coach during the Springbok tour of New Zealand and the United States. In 1985, Smith was approached by the Italian club

Rugby Rovigo stadium, 200px Rugby Rovigo Delta, formerly known until 2010 as Rugby Rovigo, is an Italian rugby union club currently competing in the Top10. They are based in Rovigo, in Veneto. The club was founded in 1935 by medical student Dino Lanzoni, wh ...

, which in a 2 years window he contributed in re-establishing as one of the strongest Italian sides. Forging a scrum culture, then contributing in signing fellow South Africans

Tito Lupini Tito Lupini (12 November 1955 – 23 July 2021) was a South African-born Italian rugby union player who played as a prop. Biography Born and raised in South Africa by Italian parents, Lupini as a player represented the provincial team of Transv ...

Naas Botha Hendrik Egnatius 'Naas' Botha (born 27 February 1958) is a South African former rugby union player, who played for Northern Transvaal and South Africa (the Springboks). He was voted ''Rugby Player of the Year'' in 1979, 1981, 1985 and 1987. B ...

and

Gert Smal Gert Petrus Smal (born 27 December 1961, Kimberley, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player and assistant coach of the South African and Irish national rugby union teams. He is currently the forwards coach at Japanese Top Le ...

, Smith was capable to gain

his 10th national championship in 1988, reaching a back to back final in 1989. His impact in putting a 9 years drought to an end is still a milestone in

history, the most rugby-addicted city in Italy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Nelie 1934 births 2016 deaths South African rugby union coaches South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Free State Cheetahs players Rugby union players from Bloemfontein Rugby union scrum-halves

Playing career

Test history

Coaching career

See also

References