We were saddened to hear of the premature death of Scottish and British Lions prop Tom Smith (OE1983-86), who died aged 50. The BBC tribute is here. In November 2019, it was reported that Tom was suffering from a very aggressive type of colon cancer and although a brief recovery was reported in January 2021 the cancer was already very advanced when it was discovered.
The tribute in The Scotsman called Tom “the greatest Scotland player of the professional era”. Tom was capped for his country 61 times and played in six British Lion tests. Tom kindly signed one of our Lions programmes which is on display in the School Archive some years ago.
Although Tom only spent three years at Emanuel, his talents were quickly spotted at U12 level with The Portcullis noting “his ripping and mauling abilities and thundering attacks” and again at U13, “In the front row Tom Smith usually impressed the opposition coaches with his powerful mauling”. Sadly, for family reasons, he transferred to a boarding school in Scotland. Long-serving German teacher, Harry Jackson, also referred to his “elusive qualities”, a trademark skill in later years.
In interviews, he often credited Rannoch School for his renowned work ethic and fitness to the fact that in his Scottish school days the pitches were frequently frozen for three months of the year and so his coaches improvised by using the tough local terrain to improve team fitness. Over the years his OE contemporaries, when recalling Tom, fondly referred to him as the ‘Big Man’ or ‘Tom ‘Scottish’ Smith’.
In a highly successful club career Tom played for many teams including Caledonian Reds, Glasgow Warriors, Brive and Northampton Saints whom he played for 174 times over eight years. After retiring aged 37 he lived in France for several years, managing the Lyon’s forward line. As he fought cancer, in November 2021, Tom was inducted into the Scottish Rugby Hall of Fame.
Tony Jones, Archivist