Rayn Smid (born 26 March 1992 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 ...

) 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, who plays for

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

. His regular position is number eight or flanker.

Career

Youth and Varsity Cup rugby

He represented at various youth competitions. In 2008, he played for their Under-16 side at the Grant Khomo Week tournament; in 2009, he played for their Under-18 side at the Academy Week tournament and in 2010, he played for the Under-18s at the

Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The tou ...

tournament. He played for the side in the

2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2011 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship was contested from 15 July to 29 October 2011. The tournament featured the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Division A There were seven partici ...

competition and for the side in the Under-21 Provincial Championship in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, helping them to winning the competition in 2013 as vice-captain of the side. He also played for the during the 2012 Varsity Cup competition, scoring five tries in five appearances, four of those tries coming in their match against the .

Western Province

He was first included in the senior side 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. His first class debut came in their opening match of the season against near neighbours . He scored his first senior try in their next match, at home to the and eventually started all nine of Western Province's matches during the competition. His first appearance 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 ...

came a few months later, during the 2013 Currie Cup competition. He started the match against following a late injury to Rynhardt Elstadt, which was his only appearance in the competition. He was also included in the wider training squad for the

2014 Super Rugby season The 2014 Super Rugby season is the fourth season of the 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as Asteron Life Super Rugby ...

. At the end of 2014, Smid joined Italian side I Cavalieri on a short-term deal. He made two appearances for them in the 2014–2015 National Championship of Excellence and one in the 2015 Trophy of Excellence before returning to Cape Town prior to 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 ...

competition.

Bristol Rugby

On 24 September 2015, English

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

side

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

announced that Smid would join them for the 2015–16 season. He made eight appearances for them during the 2015–16 season, but made just a single appearance for them in 2016–17, before leaving the club by mutual consent at the end of 2016.

Ealing Trailfinders

In January 2017 Smid joined the RFU Championship side Ealing Trailfinders, where he currently plays. Smid has enjoyed great success with the Trailfinders, appearing in almost every match since joining in 2017, frequently as captain. He was named to The Rugby Paper's Championship Dream Team for the 2018/19 season after scoring 11 tries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smid, Rayn South African rugby union players Living people 1992 births Rugby union players from Cape Town Alumni of Rondebosch Boys' High School Western Province (rugby union) players Bristol Bears players Rugby union flankers