Ian Smith (rugby union, born 1944)
Full name | Ian Sidney Gibson Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 16 June 1944 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Dundee, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||
School | George Heriot's School | ||||||||||||||||||||
University | University of Edinburgh | ||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation(s) | Dentist | ||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Ian Sidney Gibson Smith (born 16 June 1944) is a Scottish former international rugby union player.[1]
Biography
[edit]Born in Dundee, Smith was raised in Morningside, Edinburgh, and attended George Heriot's School. He would practise his kicking as a schoolboy with George Watson's College pupil Ian Robertson, later a Scotland teammate. A University of Edinburgh dentistry graduate, Smith competed in the varsity first XV and also played rugby in the services. He was a captain in the Royal Army Dental Corps, at one point stationed in Germany.[2]
Smith, a fullback, gained his first Scotland call up out of the London Scottish thirds, having come to the attention of selectors playing for Combined Services.[3] On debut at Murrayfield in 1969, Smith scored all of his team's points in a 6–3 win over the Springboks, including the match-winning try with five minutes remaining, set up by childhood friend Robertson.[4] He played in Scotland's 1970 Calcutta Cup win over England and finished his two years in the team with eight caps.[5] In 1972, Smith turned out at the Asian Championships with Hong Kong, where he had been posted.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Palmer, Mark (5 October 2019). "Ian Smith: Rise and fall of a most unlikely full-back". The Times.
- ^ "Interview: Ian Smith, Scotland's 'cherubic' full-back, on defeating the Springboks amid apartheid protests". The Scotsman. 5 October 2019.
- ^ "Murrayfield Special". Daily Record. 6 December 1969.
- ^ "Ian Smith sinks the Springboks". Sunday Sun. 7 December 1969.
- ^ "Ian Smith – a review of the former Scotland player's autobiography". Rugby World. 7 June 2020.
- ^ "Ah, So ." Daily Mirror. 1 November 1972.
External links
[edit]- Ian Smith at ESPNscrum
- 1944 births
- Living people
- Scottish rugby union players
- Scotland international rugby union players
- Hong Kong international rugby union players
- Scottish expatriate rugby union players
- Expatriate rugby union players in Hong Kong
- Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong
- Combined Services rugby union players
- London Scottish F.C. players
- Rugby union players from Edinburgh
- Rugby union fullbacks
- Royal Army Dental Corps officers
- People educated at George Heriot's School
- Alumni of the University of Edinburgh