Luke Smith (rugby union)
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9 February 1971
| Born | Luke Atholl Smith 9 February 1971 East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Died | 16 July 2021 (aged 50) East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 84 kg (13 st 3 lb; 185 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Dale College Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Luke Smith (9 February 1971 in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa – 16 July 2021) was a 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 of representing 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 Selborne College in East London and Dale College Boys' High School in King William's Town, South Africa, Smith returned to his former school as rugby coach.[5]
Smith died suddenly on 16 July 2021.[17]