, ru_coachyears = 2009–2012
2012–2015
2019–2020
, death_date=
Thomas James Smith (31 October 1971 – 6 April 2022) was an English-born
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
international
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 ...
loosehead prop who played for
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
,
Caledonia Reds
Caledonia Reds were a Scottish rugby union professional district team who participated in the Scottish Inter-District Championship and in two seasons of the Heineken Cup. They evolved from one of the traditional four amateur districts of Scotland ...
and
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...
and also represented the
British and Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
. He became a rugby coach after retiring from play. Smith was one of the finest loosehead props of the modern era.
Education and background
Born to a Scottish mother and an English father, Smith is the great-grandson of
Scottish international footballer
Jack Bell.
[Union Jack](_blank)
Rob Sawyer, Everton FC Heritage Society, 8 May 2020
Smith's father died when Tom was six years old. He was first educated at
Emanuel School
Emanuel School is an independent, co-educational day school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded in 1594 by Anne Sackville, Lady Dacre and Queen Elizabeth I and occupies a 12-acre (4.9 ha) site close to Clapham Junction ra ...
in London, before being given a boarder's education at the now defunct Scottish school on the banks of
Loch Rannoch
Loch Rannoch (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Raineach'') is a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is over long in a west–east direction with an average width of about , and is deepest at its eastern end, reaching a depth of .Tom Weir. ...
,
Rannoch School
Rannoch School was an independent boarding school, located on the south shore of Loch Rannoch in Perth and Kinross, Scotland on the Dall Estate, from Kinloch Rannoch. Dall House served as the main school building and a boarding house.
It was ...
.
His rugby skills were honed by the school's science teacher. Smith stated: "The things I learnt while playing rugby at Rannoch were work ethic and fitness. Our pitch was covered in snow and frozen solid for three months of the year, so there was a lot of running up and down hills. We were pretty well drilled and were made to work hard. There were times when it was pretty tough and cold out here but at the end of the day rugby is a hard game and you need to be tough to play it".
Club career
Smith's career spanned the amateur and professional game. He started out at the amateur clubs
Dundee High School FP and then played for
Watsonians
Watsonian Football Club is a rugby union club based in Edinburgh and part of the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is connected with George Watson's College as a club for former pupils, and changed its policy in the 1980s to be a fully open club, ...
prior to the professionalism of the old Scottish District teams. Of these pre-professional times, Smith was to say: "You find out about survival the hard way. When I joined my first senior club in Dundee, there was an old prop called Danny Herrington, a bit of a local legend, who basically shoved my head up my arse in training, twice a week every week for what seemed like years. Now, that's what you call a learning curve. Those training sessions were my classroom."
On professionalism in Scotland in 1996 he joined
Caledonia Reds
Caledonia Reds were a Scottish rugby union professional district team who participated in the Scottish Inter-District Championship and in two seasons of the Heineken Cup. They evolved from one of the traditional four amateur districts of Scotland ...
. The Reds won the
Scottish Inter-District Championship
The Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition between regional sides in Scotland. Established in 1953, the tournament went through several formats.
The Scottish Rugby Union confirmed in January 2023 that the Scottish In ...
in the
1996–97 season, the first Inter-District championship of Scotland's professional era. He played in the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
with Caledonia Reds and also played in the
1997–98 Scottish Inter-District Championship the following season.
In 1998, the
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...
decided it could not afford to run the traditional four Scottish districts at a professional level.
Caledonia Reds
Caledonia Reds were a Scottish rugby union professional district team who participated in the Scottish Inter-District Championship and in two seasons of the Heineken Cup. They evolved from one of the traditional four amateur districts of Scotland ...
and the
Border Reivers
Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...
were disbanded and the districts merged with Glasgow and Edinburgh respectively. Smith was one of the lucky players that moved to the renamed Glasgow Caledonians, now
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
. He played in the
1998–99 Scottish Inter-District Championship - then a Tri-Series between Edinburgh and Glasgow - and played four matches in the European Conference for Glasgow in that season. After one season at Glasgow Warriors, he was taken on at French club
CA Brive
Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze department. They compete in the first-tier Top 14 competition.
Briv ...
. He stayed a further two seasons with the club.
Smith returned to the UK in 2001 to join
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...
in the
English Premiership
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
making his Northampton debut on 1 September 2001. Over the subsequent eight seasons his appetite for the action never diminished and neither did his popularity with the Saints' fans. His time at Franklin's Gardens included two Powergen Cup finals, a Heineken Cup semi-final and three Heineken Cup quarter finals. He remained at Northampton until his retirement from playing in 2009.
International career
Smith earned his first Scotland cap in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
in the Calcutta Cup match versus England at
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
. Despite only having three caps to his name at the time he was included by coach
Ian McGeechan
Sir Ian Robert McGeechan, OBE (born 30 October 1946) is a retired Scottish rugby union player, coach and teacher. Born in Leeds, McGeechan represented Headingley as his only club during a 15-year club career, qualifying for Scotland through hi ...
in the squad for the
1997 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa. Surprising many, Smith was selected to start all three test matches alongside
Paul Wallace and
Keith Wood
Keith Wood (born 27 January 1972) is an Irish former international rugby union player who played as a hooker for Ireland, the British & Irish Lions, Garryowen, Harlequins and Munster. He was nicknamed 'The Raging Potato' because of his bal ...
, in preference to the other touring props
Jason Leonard
Jason Leonard (born 14 August 1968) is an English former rugby union player. He won a then-record 114 caps for England men’s rugby team during a 14-year international career.
A prop, Leonard played club rugby for Barking RFC, Saracens and H ...
and
Graham Rowntree
Graham Christopher Rowntree (born 18 April 1971) is an English rugby union former player and current head coach of Irish club Munster. He played loosehead prop for Leicester Tigers and England. He was capped 54 times for England, despite havi ...
. His strong scrummaging and good hands alongside many other great team performances, ensured that the Lions won over their much more highly fancied hosts and won the series 2–1.
Smith was also selected in the
2001 Lions tour of Australia and played all three test matches of that series, to become the only Scot to play the six consecutive Lions tests matches of 1997 and 2001.
For the next eight-years Smith was to be a first choice starter for Scotland and talismanic figure for the team, winning the
Five Nations in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
and captaining the side throughout the 2001 Autumn Internationals. Smith was also Scotland's Player of the Season in 2000–01. He was included in the Zurich World XV for 2002, a notional team list that was compiled based on ratings from detailed video analysis of performances during the past year. After an international career that included two World Cups and six consecutive Lions tests, Smith's final match in the blue jersey came, appropriately enough, against England in the 2005
Six Nations clash at Twickenham.
Smith was a fan favourite with the
Murrayfield
Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often conside ...
faithful, with many considering him the greatest loose head prop the team had ever had, alongside Grand Slam winning captain
David Sole
David Michael Barclay Sole (born 8 May 1962) is a former Scotland international rugby union player.
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1993 New Year Honours.
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
He was e ...
.
Coaching
Having retired from playing in 2009, he took on the role of forwards coach at
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
under
Rob Moffat
Rob Moffat is a Scottish rugby union coach. He was the assistant coach at Edinburgh under Andy Robinson before taking over as head coach in 2009 and has been involved in coaching Scotland A, Glasgow Warriors and the Borders. On 31 January 2011 h ...
.
In October 2008, Smith and
Craig Chalmers
Craig Minto Chalmers (born 15 October 1968) is a former Scotland international rugby union player and coach. He represented Scotland, the British Lions and the Barbarians at international level. He made 60 international appearances as a player ...
were announced as coaches for the
Scotland national under-20 rugby union team
The Scotland national under-20 rugby union team participates in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship. Their highest placement is 5th which they achieved in the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.
The U20 side also compete in the Six Nation ...
.
In May 2012, it was announced that he had been appointed forwards coach with the French club
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
.
Health and death
On 21 November 2019, it was announced that Smith had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, with tumours in his colon, brain and liver. He died on 6 April 2022, aged 50.
Honours
;Northampton Saints
*
EPCR Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...
winner:
2008–09
*
Premiership Rugby
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
third place:
2002–03,
2003–04
;Caledonia Reds
*
Scottish Inter-District Championship
The Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition between regional sides in Scotland. Established in 1953, the tournament went through several formats.
The Scottish Rugby Union confirmed in January 2023 that the Scottish In ...
winner:
1996–97
References
External links
Sporting Heroes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Tom
1971 births
2022 deaths
People educated at Rannoch School
Northampton Saints players
Scottish rugby union coaches
Scottish rugby union players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland
Rugby union props
Rugby union players from London
Scotland international rugby union players
Caledonia Reds players
Dundee HSFP players
Watsonians RFC players
People educated at Emanuel School
Glasgow Warriors players
Anglo-Scots