Arthur Robert Smith

Arthur Robert Smith

Arthur Robert Smith was born in Castle Douglas on 23 January 1933 and educated at Kirkcudbright School and Glasgow and Cambridge Universities. He won four Blues on the wing for Cambridge between 1954 and 1957 and later played club rugby for Edinburgh Wanderers and Ebbw Vale. A Scottish AAA long jump champion he went on to gain 33 caps between 1955 and 1962 for Scotland, scoring 12 tries as well as kicking 20 points and leading his country in 15 internationals. His first British Isles tour to South Africa in 1955 was curtailed to five appearances because of a broken thumb though in the final game he scored five tries against East Africa. Seven years later he returned to South Africa as the British Isles' captain and scored eight tries in 14 games (including three tests). A loyal Barbarian, he scored 60 points, including 16 tries, in 23 appearances and on the 1958 tour to South Africa completed a hat-trick of tries against Transvaal at Ellis Park. He was also captain on that tour against Western Transvaal. As well as playing against Australia at Cardiff Arms Park in 1958 he was on the wing against Canada at Gosforth four years later. Arthur Smith died on 3 February 1975, aged 42.