Full name | Ian Sidney Gibson Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | (1944-06-16) 16 June 1944 (age 80) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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.
Biography
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.
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. 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. He played in Scotland's 1970 Calcutta Cup win over England and finished his two years in the team with eight caps. In 1972, Smith turned out at the Asian Championships with Hong Kong, where he had been posted.
See also
References
- 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
- 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