Peter Smith (1 August 1924 – 26 January 1954) was a 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 ...

player. He was a member of the 1947

All Blacks 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 that toured Australia, but did not appear in any Test matches. He played

second five-eighth Second five-eighths, or sometimes second five-eighth, is a name used in New Zealand to refer the rugby union position commonly known elsewhere as the inside centre or number 12. It traditionally described a playmaking type of 12 with good passing ...

Personal life

Smith was born in

Kaikohe Kaikohe is the seat of the Far North District of New Zealand, situated on State Highway 12 about 260 km from Auckland. It is the largest inland town and highest community above sea level in the Northland Region. With a population of over ...

and attended Kaikohe Primary and then Kaikohe District High School. He was one of three children. His father Leslie was a baker who had served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and played rugby for both South Auckland and North Island Country. His mother, Niria Takiwira, belonged to the hapū Te Uri-o-Hua of

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

. His brother

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

was also an All Black. Peter died in 1954, aged 29.

Representative career

Smith played for North Auckland (now Northland) in 1946, 1947, 1950 and 1951. Affiliating to the Ngāpuhi

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

, Smith played for New Zealand Māori in 1946 and from 1949 to 1951, as well as appearing for a New Zealand Māori XV in 1945. He played for Tai Tokerau from 1946 to 1948 and in 1950.

All Black tour

Smith's single All Blacks tour was to Australia in 1947. He played three tour matches, but no tests. Against Combined Northern he scored four tries (12 points), his entire haul as an All Black.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Peter 1924 births 1954 deaths New Zealand international rugby union players People from Kaikohe Northland rugby union players Rugby union centres Māori All Blacks players Ngāpuhi people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from the Northland Region