Luke Smith (rugby union)
| Birth name | Luke Atholl Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 9 February 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 84 kg (13 st 3 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Dale College Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Luke Smith (born 9 February 1971 in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa) is a former professional rugby union player. He played at Fly-half for Glasgow Caledonians, now Glasgow Warriors; as well as Racing 92 and Saracens among others.
He signed for Glasgow in 1998 from Border Bulldogs in South Africa.[2] He was Scottish-Qualified as his grandmother, Rachel Watson, was from Edinburgh.
He made the move in the hope to represent Scotland. He stated: "After being sidelined for two years because of a serious knee injury, I made up my mind to continue my career in Europe. When I told my agent about my family background, he set about getting me fixed up with a Scottish team. The ultimate goal for any player is to play at international level and as soon as I found out that I could be eligible for Scotland, my sights were set."[3]
However, injury prevented him from receiving Scotland 'A'[4] or Scotland 'B' honours[5] and the hope of a Scotland career stalled. He did however represent a combined Scottish Districts side.[6][7][8]
He played two matches in the Heineken Cup for Glasgow; against US Colomiers[9][10] and Pontypridd[11] He also played in the Scottish Inter-District Championship and in that season's WRU Challenge Cup.[12]
He also played for Glasgow in friendlies against touring international sides South Africa[13] and the Māori All Blacks[14] and Fiji[15]
After playing for Glasgow, Smith moved to Racing 92 and then Rotherham[16] He played just 5 matches for Rotherham before signing for Saracens[1]
Smith also played for Mirano Rugby in Italy; and Birmingham & Solihull, Coventry and Esher in England.[5]
Schooled at Dale College Boys' High School in King William's Town, South Africa, Smith has now returned to his former school as Rugby Coach.[5]
References
- ^ a b "Luke Smith – Rugby Union – Players and Officials". ESPN scrum.
- ^ "Caledonians in line for a South African boost". The Herald. Glasgow.
- ^ "Luke here – and his target is to gain a Scotland place Caledonians' South African signing could have a chance to wear the dark blue". The Herald. Glasgow.
- ^ "Stand-off crisis results in the return of Donaldson". The Herald. Glasgow.
- ^ a b c "Rugby365-Dale's new coach".
- ^ "Late show from Craig seals impressive win Combined Districts perform well despite injuries and sickness for players". The Herald. Glasgow.
- ^ "Simpson sends message as Districts score victory". The Herald. Glasgow.
- ^ http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12016152.Wainwright_may_retire/
- ^ "Match Centre – Heineken Cup – ERC – Official Website". ercrugby.com.
- ^ http://www.calmview.eu/HUBCAT/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BML%2F5%2F13
- ^ "Heineken Cup : Player profile".
- ^ "Match centre". scarlets.co.uk.
- ^ http://www.calmview.eu/HUBCAT/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BML%2F2%2F16%2F43
- ^ "Defeat but no disgrace for Glasgow's Reds". The Herald. Glasgow.
- ^ "Reds give a green light for Scotland". The Herald. Glasgow.
- ^ "Vile milestone is bad news for Rotherham". ESPN scrum.