George smith biography rugby
George Benjamin Smith
PositionFlanker / No. 8
Date Of BirthJuly 14, 1980
Place of BirthSydney
SchoolCromer High School & Balgowlah Boys' High School
Debut ClubManly
ProvinceACT
Other ClubBrothers, Toulon (FRA), Suntory Sungoliath (JAP), Stade Francais (FRA), Lyon (FRA), Wasps (ENG), Bristol (ENG)
Other ProvinceQLD
Debut Test Match2000 vs. France, Paris
Final Test Match2013 3rd Test vs. British & Irish Lions, Sydney
Rugby World Cups2003 & 2007
George Smith was one of the most influential players of his era and an all-time great on the world rugby stage. Few players can lay claim to the fact that they changed their chosen game but Smith did just that. He revolutionized the way rugby was played through his constant, competitive presence at the breakdown.
Of Tongan extraction, Smith had speed, strength and aggression. He was a fearless pilferer and a damaging tackler.
Born in Sydney, Smith was educated firstly at Balgowlah Boys’ High School and then Cromer High School from where he was selected for Australian Schools in both 1997 and 1998/99.
Smith created quite an impression on the broader rugby community when he debuted for the ACT Brumbies in 2000 as a dreadlocked teen. He then played a starring role for Australia U21s when they finished third at the world youth tournament in New Zealand. From there it was only a question of when, not if, that Smith would become a mainstay in the Wallabies. The when happened later that same year after he was picked in the squad for the Spring Tour and then made his Test debut against France in Paris at just 20 years, 113 days.
In 2001 he celebrated his 21st birthday with a man-of-the-match performance against the British & Irish Lions in the third and deciding Test in Sydney. His career continued virtually uninterrupted from 2000 to 2009 as he missed just three Wallaby Tests when he reached his 50th cap in 2005 and just six when he played his 100th international in 2009.
Smit George Smith is one of the greatest players Australian rugby has ever produced, and certainly one of the all-time best, open-side flankers in the world arena. After becoming the fourth Wallaby and the 10th in the history of the game worldwide to reach a century of Tests, Smith went on to earn 110 Test caps for Australia. Throughout his career he bedazzled crowds—and more importantly, the opposition—with the tactical brilliance, technique, and physicality in his game. A relentless and supremely skillful terrier, he was spectacularly targeted by opponents as the player they had to close down but through all such storms Smith responded heroically. His glorious career included numerous best and fairest player awards in both Test and Super rugby where he played his entire career with the Canberra-based Brumbies. He also played in two World Cups, in 2003 and 2007, and starred in numerous Test wins in the Bledisloe Cup and Tri Nations series, as well as in the Wallabies' stunning series victory over the British and Irish Lions when they toured to Australia in 2001. He became the 75th Wallabies captain, leading Australia for the first time in the 2007 World Cup against Canada in Bordeaux and on a number of occasions afterwards. But for Smith, an errant youth who'd been seduced by a bad crowd on Sydney's northern beaches, life could have turned out disastrously, barely before it started. He was raised in a Tongan family as one of nine siblings and after his expulsion from Balgowlah Boys High School it was this Tongan heritage, in the end, which proved to be his salvation. The dramatic road he's followed since, throughout a stellar amateur and professional rugby career, has been littered with pot holes. Some he fell into. Others he avoided. But, as in rugby, in life it's how one responds that really counts. Australian rugby union player Not to be confused with George William Smith (sportsman). For other people named George Smith, see George Smith (disambiguation). Rugby player Smith during a Stade Français training session George SmithAM (born 14 July 1980) is an Australian retired rugby union player. He was a flanker for 12 years (2000–10,13) at the ACT Brumbies in Super Rugby, earning 142 caps. He made his test debut in 2000 against France in Paris and earnt 111 caps for Australia, 110 before retiring from international rugby on 5 February 2010 and one final cap against the British & Irish Lions on 6 July 2013. He is the second most capped Wallaby forward behind Nathan Sharpe, and is the second most capped flanker in rugby union behind Richie McCaw. Smith was born in Manly, Sydney. He had a successful school rugby career, first at Balgowlah Boys High School, then at Cromer High School, along with Tongan international John Payne, he won the Australian Schools Championship. He played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1998. Smith's junior club rugby was with the Manly Roos/Warringah Roos, before moving on to play the majority of his junior career with the Manly Vikings, playing a year above his age group in the Sydney junior rugby competition. Once that team had reached its age limit (18 years old) and moved on to the Colts competition, Smith remained in the Sydney junior rugby competition, this time lining up in his correct age group for the Seaforth-Balgowlah Raiders. He then progressed to playing i NZ dual-code international rugby footballer, track athlete & jockey This article is about the New Zealand sportsman. For the Scottish footballer, see George W. Smith (footballer). Smith in 1905 George William Smith (20 September 1874 – 7 December 1954) was a New Zealand sportsman who excelled at track and field as well as both codes of rugby football. Smith was born in Auckland and educated at Wellesley Street School. He became a successful jockey and it was later reported he won the 1894 New Zealand Cup, riding Impulse. However this has been queried or disputed, for example: George Smith: The Biography
George Smith (rugby union)
Date of birth (1980-07-14) 14 July 1980 (age 44) Place of birth Manly, Australia Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) Weight 103 kg (227 lb; 16 st 3 lb) School Cromer Campus Notable relative(s) Tyrone Smith (brother) Occupation(s) Retired rugby player Early life and junior career
George William Smith (sportsman)
Full name George William Smith Born (1874-09-20)20 September 1874
Auckland, New ZealandDied 7 December 1954(1954-12-07) (aged 80)
Oldham, Lancashire, EnglandHeight 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) Weight 76 kg (12 st 0 lb) Position Wing, Centre Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1896–06 Auckland 12 8 0 0 24 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1897–05 New Zealand 2 2 0 0 6 Position Wing, Centre, Second-row Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1908–16 Oldham 173 100 5 0 310 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1907–08 New Zealand 25 7 0 0 21 Relatives Dick Smith (nephew)
Jack Smith (nephew)Early years
Horse racing