Full name Thomas William Smith Date of death 15 May 1960 | Date of birth 15 August 1883 Occupation(s) Publican | |
Place of birth Rearsby, Leicestershire Place of death Halton Holegate, Lincolnshire Died 15 May 1960, Halton Holegate, United Kingdom | ||
Thomas William Smith known as Tom Smith (born 15 August 1883, deceased 15 May 1960) was a rugby union forward who played 58 times for Leicester Tigers between 1906 and 1908. Wood made his Leicester debut on 17 March 1906 against Birkenhead Park FC. Smith was also a member of the 1908 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia and played in the second and third test, drawing the second and losing the third.
An RFU inquiry in 1908 declared Smith a professional after which he signed professional forms for Broughton Rangers, though he never played a game for them he did turn out once for Coventry's Northern Union side in 1910. Leicester's secretary Tom Crumbie tried to have Smith's amateur status re-instated on the basis that his signature was obtain by gross misrepresentation but was never successful.