Editing Tom Smith (rugby union, born 1971)

{{Short description|British Lions & Scotland international rugby union player (1971–2022)}}
{{about||the Scotland international rugby union lock|Tom Smith (rugby union, born 1953)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox rugby biography
| name        = Tom Smith
| image       =
| birth_name  = Thomas James Smith
| birth_date  = {{birth date|df=yes|1971|10|31}}
| birth_place = London, England
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2022|4|6|1971|10|31|df=yes}}
| height_ft   = 5
| height_in   = 10
| weight_st   = 16
| weight_lb   = 3
| ru_position = [[Prop (rugby union)|Prop]]
| amatyears1  = 
| amatyears2  = 
| amatteam1   = [[Dundee HSFP|Dundee High School FP]]
| amatteam2   = [[Watsonians RFC|Watsonians]]
| years1      = 1996–1998
| years2      = 1998–1999
| years3      = 1999–2001
| years4      = 2001–2009
| clubs1      = [[Caledonia Reds]]
| clubs2      = [[Glasgow Warriors]]
| clubs3      = [[CA Brive]]
| clubs4      = [[Northampton Saints]]
| apps1       = 
| apps2       = 6
| apps3       = 
| apps4       = 174
| points1     = 
| points2     = 0
| points3     = 
| points4     = 50
| repyears1   = 1997–2005
| repyears2   = [[1997 British Lions tour to South Africa|1997]], [[2001 British Lions tour to Australia|2001]]
| repteam1    = [[Scotland national rugby union team|Scotland]]
| repteam2    = [[British and Irish Lions]]
| repcaps1    = 61
| repcaps2    = 6
| reppoints1  = 30
| reppoints2  = 0
| coachyears1 = 2009–2012
| coachyears2 = 2012–2015
| coachyears3 = 2019–2020
| coachteams1 = [[Edinburgh Rugby|Edinburgh]] (forwards)
| coachteams2 = [[Lyon OU]] (forwards) 
| coachteams3 = [[Doncaster Knights]] 
}}
'''Thomas James Smith''' (31 October 1971 – 6 April 2022) was a Scottish professional [[rugby union]] player who played as a [[Prop (rugby union)|loosehead prop]]. Born in London and schooled in the [[Scottish Highlands]], Smith began his career with [[Dundee HSFP]] and then [[Watsonian FC|Watsonians]] before joining the [[Caledonia Reds]] as the game changed from amateur to professional. A brief spell at [[Glasgow Warriors]] followed before two seasons at [[CA Brive|Brive]] and then eight successful years at [[Northampton Saints]]. At international level, Smith earned 61 caps for [[Scotland national rugby union team|Scotland]] and was selected for two tours with the [[British & Irish Lions]], in 1997 and 2001, starting six consecutive tests. After retiring from playing, he went into coaching.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rugbyworld.com/rugby-positions/looseheads/tom-smith-66494|title=Tom Smith|date=17 August 2016|website=Rugby World|access-date=7 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/scotland/rugby/player/12428.html|title=Thomas James Smith|website=Espnscrum.com|access-date=7 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/56543758|title=Blues forwards coach Smith leaves region|work=BBC Sport|access-date=7 April 2022}}</ref>

==Education and background==
Born to a Scottish mother and an English father, Smith is the great-grandson of [[Scotland men's national football team|Scottish international]] footballer [[Jack Bell (footballer, born 1869)|Jack Bell]].<ref name="UnionJack">[http://efcheritagesociety.com/?p=4590 Union Jack], Rob Sawyer, Everton FC Heritage Society, 8 May 2020</ref>

Smith's father died when Tom was six years old. He was first educated at [[Emanuel School]] in London before being given a boarder's education at [[Rannoch School]] (now closed) in the [[Scottish Highlands]], on the banks of [[Loch Rannoch]].<ref name="independent.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/club-rugby/tom-smith-i-played-right-after-one-seizure-ndash-not-a-good-idea-1673944.html|title=Tom Smith: 'I played right after one seizure – not a good idea'|date=23 October 2011|newspaper=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/britishandirishlionsrugby/10115362/Lions-2013-Tom-Smiths-rugged-route-to-rugby-excellence.html|title=Lions 2013: Tom Smith's rugged route to rugby excellence|date=12 June 2013|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}</ref>

==Club career==
Smith's career spanned the amateur and professional game. He started out at the amateur clubs [[Dundee HSFP|Dundee High School FP]] and then played for [[Watsonians RFC|Watsonians]] 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."<ref name="independent.co.uk"/>

On professionalism in Scotland in 1996 he joined [[Caledonia Reds]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/glasgows-first-steps-to-europe-1315768.html|title=Glasgow's first steps to Europe|author=Bill Leith|date=22 October 2011|newspaper=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> The Reds won the [[Scottish Inter-District Championship]] in the [[1996–97 Scottish Inter-District Championship|1996–97]] season, the first Inter-District championship of Scotland's professional era. He played in the [[Heineken Cup]] with Caledonia Reds and also played in the [[1997–98 Scottish Inter-District Championship]] the following season.

In 1998, the [[Scottish Rugby Union]] decided it could not afford to run the traditional four Scottish districts at a professional level. [[Caledonia Reds]] and the [[Border Reivers (rugby)|Border Reivers]] 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]]. 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]]. He stayed a further two seasons with the club.

Smith returned to the UK in 2001 to join [[Northampton Saints]] in the [[English Premiership (rugby union)|English Premiership]] 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/my_club/northampton/8012668.stm |title=Ex-Lions prop Smith set to retire |work=BBC Sport |date=22 April 2009 |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref>

==International career==
Smith earned his first Scotland cap in [[1997 Five Nations Championship|1997]] in the Calcutta Cup match versus England at [[Twickenham Stadium|Twickenham]]. Despite only having three caps to his name at the time he was included by coach [[Ian McGeechan]] in the squad for the [[1997 British Lions tour to South Africa|1997 British and Irish Lions]] tour to South Africa. Surprising many, Smith was selected to start all three test matches alongside [[Paul Wallace (rugby union)|Paul Wallace]] and [[Keith Wood]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/4428363.stm |title=History of the Lions: South Africa 1997 |first=Sean |last=Davies |work=BBC Sport |date=18 May 2005 |access-date=11 June 2022}}</ref> in preference to the other touring props [[Jason Leonard]] and [[Graham Rowntree]]. 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 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia|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 [[Six Nations Championship|Five Nations]] in [[1999 Five Nations Championship|1999]] 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=3048403 |title=Zurich World XV |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=22 December 2002 |access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> 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 Championship|Six Nations]] clash at Twickenham.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/4513937.stm |title=Smith ends international career |work=BBC Sport |date=4 May 2005 |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref>

==Coaching==
Having retired from playing in 2009, he took on the role of forwards coach at [[Edinburgh Rugby|Edinburgh]] under [[Rob Moffat]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/my_club/edinburgh/8161618.stm |title=Smith is Edinburgh forwards coach |work=BBC Sport |date=21 July 2009 |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref>

In October 2008, Smith and [[Craig Chalmers]] were announced as coaches for the [[Scotland national under-20 rugby union team]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/default_content/12374821.chalmers-smith-coach-20s/ |title=Chalmers and Smith to coach Under 20s |work=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |location=Glasgow |date=25 October 2008 |access-date=27 December 2022}}</ref>

In May 2012, it was announced that he had been appointed forwards coach with the French club [[Lyon OU|Lyon]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.edinburghrugby.org/content/view/2457/88/ |title=Tom Smith appointed as forwards coach |website=Edinburghrugby.org |access-date=15 December 2010 |date=21 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726020518/http://www.edinburghrugby.org/content/view/2457/88/ |archive-date=26 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/news/1388.php |title=Tom Smith announces retirement from top-class rugby |website=Northamptonsaints.co.uk |access-date=15 December 2010 |date=22 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312103001/http://www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/news/1388.php |archive-date=12 March 2012}}</ref>

==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.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/50395820 |title=Tom Smith: Former British and Irish Lions prop reveals stage four cancer diagnosis |work=BBC Sport|access-date=21 November 2019 |date=21 November 2019}}</ref> He died on 6 April 2022, aged 50.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/apr/06/one-of-the-greats-tom-smith-former-scotland-and-lions-prop-dies-aged-50|title = 'One of the greats': Tom Smith, former Scotland and Lions prop, dies aged 50|newspaper = [[The Guardian]]|agency = [[Press Association]]|date = 6 April 2022|access-date = 6 April 2022}}</ref>

==Honours==
'''Caledonia Reds'''
*[[Scottish Inter-District Championship]] <small>winner</small>: [[1996–97 Scottish Inter-District Championship|1996–97]]

'''Northampton Saints'''
*[[EPCR Challenge Cup]] <small>winner</small>: [[2008–09 European Challenge Cup|2008–09]]
*[[Premiership Rugby]] <small>third place</small>: [[2002–03 Premiership Rugby|2002–03]], [[2003–04 Premiership Rugby|2003–04]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby/scotland/tom-1971-smith-4128/international-football-caps-for-scotland_a04327/ Sporting Heroes profile]

{{Scotland 1999 Rugby World Cup squad}}
{{Scotland 2003 Rugby World Cup squad}}
{{British and Irish Lions 1997}}
{{British and Irish Lions 2001}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Tom}}
[[Category:1971 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Rannoch School]]
[[Category:Northampton Saints players]]
[[Category:Scottish rugby union coaches]]
[[Category:Scottish rugby union players]]
[[Category:British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland]]
[[Category:Rugby union props]]
[[Category:Rugby union players from London]]
[[Category:Scotland international rugby union players]]
[[Category:Caledonia Reds players]]
[[Category:Dundee HSFP players]]
[[Category:Watsonian FC players]]
[[Category:People educated at Emanuel School]]
[[Category:Glasgow Warriors players]]
[[Category:Anglo-Scots]]
[[Category:1999 Rugby World Cup players]]
[[Category:2003 Rugby World Cup players]]