Nelie Smith
| Birth name | Cornelius Michael Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 8 May 1934 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, Union of South Africa (now Free State) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 2 May 2016 (aged 81) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Strand, Western Cape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Hoërskool Sentraal, Bloemfontein | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of the Free State | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cornelius Michael 'Nelie' Smith (8 May 1934 – 2 May 2016) was a South African rugby union player and coach.[1]
Playing career
Smith made his provincial debut at scrumhalf for Orange Free State during the 1956 season and went on to play 60 matches for Orange Free State, captaining them 37 times. He also played four matches for Griqualand West.[2]
He made his test debut for the Springboks during the Australian rugby tour of 1963 in the third test on 24 August 1963 at the Ellis Park in Johannesburg. South Africa lost the match 9–11, with Smith scoring all nine points. Smith scored twelve points in seven test matches for South Africa and captained the team in four tests.[3] He also played in twelve tour matches and scored a further nine points for the Springboks.[4]
Test history
| No. | Opponents | Results (SA 1st) |
Position | Points | Dates | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Australia |
9–11 | Scrumhalf | 9 (3 pen) | 24 Aug 1963 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg |
| 2. | Australia |
22–6 | Scrumhalf | 7 Sep 1963 | Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth | |
| 3. |  Wales |
24–3 | Scrumhalf | 3 (1 try) | 23 May 1964 | Kings Park, Durban |
| 4. |  France |
6–8 | Scrumhalf (c) | 25 Jul 1964 | PAM Brink Stadium, Springs | |
| 5. | Australia |
11–18 | Scrumhalf (c) | 19 Jun 1965 | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | |
| 6. | Australia |
8–12 | Scrumhalf (c) | 26 Jun 1965 | Lang Park, Brisbane | |
| 7. |  New Zealand |
0–13 | Scrumhalf (c) | 21 Aug 1965 | Carisbrook, Dunedin |
Coaching career
Smith coached numerous teams, both in South Africa and internationally. His first big success as a coach was in 1976, when he and Sakkie van Zyl, coached the Orange Free State to its first Currie Cup title. He was the Springboks coach in 1980 when the Springboks defeated Billy Beaumont's Lions and in 1981 he was the coach during the Springbok tour of New Zealand and the United States.[2]
In 1985, Smith was approached by the Italian club Rugby Rovigo, which in a 2 years window he contributed in re-establishing as one of the strongest Italian sides. Forging a scrum culture, then contributing in signing fellow South Africans Tito Lupini, Naas Botha and Gert Smal, Smith was capable to gain Rugby Rovigo his 10th national championship in 1988, reaching a back to back final in 1989. His impact in putting a 9 years drought to an end is still a milestone in Rugby Rovigo history, the most rugby-addicted city in Italy.
See also
- List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 389
References
- ^ "Nelie Smith". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ a b "SA Rugby mourns death of Nelie Smith". Sport. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ Jooste, Graham K. (1995). South African rugby test players 1949-1995. Johannesburg: Penguin. pp. 45–52. ISBN 0140250174. OCLC 36916860.
- ^ Colquhoun, Andy (1999). The South African Rugby Annual 1999. Cape Town: MWP Media Sport. p. 160. ISBN 0958423148.
