Matt Smith (rugby union)
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| Birth name | Matthew Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 15 November 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Leicester, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 98 kg (15 st 6 lb) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Oakham School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Matthew William Smith (born 15 November 1985 in Leicester) is an English professional rugby union player who plays centre for Leicester Tigers.
Career
Smith made his Tigers début against the Barbarians in March 2006 and, by the close of the 2006/07 season, had played on a further three occasions for the first team. Smith has been a regular member of Tigers’ successful Development XV over the past two seasons, where his versatility has seen him excel at centre, full-back or fly-half. He scored his first senior try last season, crossing during the friendly encounter with Marcelo Loffreda’s Argentina at Welford Road in February.
The son of former Tigers flanker, skipper and coach Ian "Dosser" Smith, Smith joined the Tigers Junior Academy at U-16 level and represented Oakham School in their 2003 Daily Mail Cup Final win at Twickenham. Smith entered his second year as a member of the first-team squad in 2007/08 and he was loaned out to National Division One team Nottingham. [2]
The 2008/09 season saw Smith make his breakthrough into regular first team action, appearing in all 16 of the games before Christmas 2008.
In January 2009 he received a call up to the England Saxons[3] and came off the bench to score a début try in the match against Portugal.[4]
He has made over 200 appearances for Leicester Tigers, and received the Outstanding Service Award at the end of the 2015/16 season. [5]
References
- ↑ "Aviva Premiership Rugby - Gloucester Rugby". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ↑ Leicester Tigers : Matt Smith
- ↑ Mann, Andy (26 January 2009). "Smith deserves Saxons chance – coach". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ↑ Brereton, Chris (31 January 2009). "Ellis impresses on his return to lead Saxon rout of Portugal". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ↑ "Matt Smith (Centre) | Leicester Tigers". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 2017-09-12.