Thomas William Smith (15 August 1883 – 15 May 1960) was a

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 ...

forward who played 58 times for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

between 1906 and 1908. Wood made his Leicester debut on 17 March 1906 against Birkenhead Park FC. Smith was also a member of the

1908 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia The 1908 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was the seventh tour by a British Isles team and the fourth to New Zealand and Australia. The tour is often referred to as the ''Anglo-Welsh Tour'' as only English and Welsh players wer ...

and played in the second and third test, drawing the second and losing the third. An RFU inquiry in 1908 declared Smith a professional after which he signed professional forms for Broughton Rangers, though he never played a game for them he did turn out once for Coventry's Northern Union side in 1910. Leicester's secretary Tom Crumbie tried to have Smith's amateur status re-instated on the basis that his signature was obtain by gross misrepresentation but was never successful.

Sources

Farmer,Stuart & Hands, David ''Tigers-Official History of Leicester Football Club'' (The Rugby DevelopmentFoundation ) Mather, Tom ''Rugby's Greatest Mystery: Who really was F.S.Jackson?'', Appendix 2: ''The Tigers feat: Leicester Tigers and the RFU 1895 to 1914'' (London League Publications LTD )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Tom 1883 births 1960 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England English rugby union players Leicester Tigers players Rugby union players from Leicestershire Rugby union forwards