Tributes paid to 'one of rugby's all-time greats'
After Wallabies legend George Smith announced his retirement from rugby, tributes have poured in on social media from around the world.
The 38-year-old is retiring after having one of the most varied and decorated careers in recent times. He made his Test debut in 2000 and was still going strong 19 years later with the Bristol Bears this season.
However, it is not just the longevity of his career that makes him such a special player, but his expertise. In terms of the greatest flankers this century, if not in history, many would rank the 111-cap Smith up there with Richie McCaw.
Not only did he win Super Rugby twice with the Brumbies during his 12 years with them, but he was the team’s Player of the Year 10 times, as well as being Super Rugby Player of the Year on three occasions.
In recent years, he has moved from club to club across the world, including Toulon, Suntory Sungoliath, Stade Francais, Lyon, Wasps, the Reds and Bristol. However, even then, he earned the RPA’s Players’ Player of the Year in 2015 at Wasps and the Reds Player of the Year in 2017.
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As expected, tributes have flooded in from players and pundits across the game, who would have played with or against him during his career. He has invariably been described as one of the greats of the game, as he has made an impression on all he has shared a field with. This is what has been said:
https://twitter.com/martynewilliams/status/1130760440550760448?
George Smith!! The great man retires from rugby. I never thought this day would come… One of the genuine greats that I was fortunate to play with.. He’s one bloke I know will enjoy retirement #Enjoyment pic.twitter.com/r9dqz8l6yw
— Matt Giteau ?? (@giteau_rugby) May 21, 2019
George Smith – One of Rugby’s all time greats!! Had the honour of playing my last ever professional rugby match with him for the barbarians_fc a few years back. What a week!!! Enjoy retirement pal ? https://t.co/JrC46zZW3B
— Ugo Monye (@ugomonye) May 21, 2019
I’ve often been asked to name the best ‘all round’ player I’ve called .. and George Smith is my No 1. He was so talented and so consistent. You always knew he would be giving 100%. All the best in retirement George.@FOXRUGBY pic.twitter.com/tlbBGjtEG7
— Greg Clark (@greg_clarkie) May 21, 2019
A true legend. One of the very best to have played the sport. Ever. ?????? https://t.co/VyHy7yJRkI
— Daniel Leo (@danleo82) May 21, 2019
George Smith, I touched him once. One of the greats.
— Jim Hamilton (@jimhamilton4) May 21, 2019
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— Kurtley Beale (@kurtley_beale) May 21, 2019
Probably the best player I’ve ever played with. George Smith did everything & was one of those guys who was world class at all aspects of his game. Can’t imagine what a mess his body is in. Feet up lad. Privilege to play alongside you @RCTofficiel pic.twitter.com/mK1S0fVk9B
— Tom May (@TomMay1) May 21, 2019
Well the legend is finally calling it a day. What a honour to have played with and against one of the greats. (Even though he ended me in that pic ?) George you are the man. ?????? pic.twitter.com/TfB5ZL58UF
— Jordan Crane (@JordanCrane86) May 21, 2019
In Test rugby, Smith was also the youngest player to reach 100 caps in 2009, four days after turning 29. He soon retired from international rugby with 110 caps to his name, before making a comeback in 2013 against the British and Irish Lions. This also meant that he played in both the 2001 and the 2013 Lions series, and has continued playing six years after that.
After retiring at such a young age, questions will always be asked how many caps he could have won for the Wallabies, but there is still no denying the impact that he made on world rugby. He now will move on to a coaching role with his former club Suntory Sungoliath after one of rugby’s greatest careers.
WATCH: Part two of the RugbyPass Legends interview with Wallaby winger Drew Mitchell
Comments on RugbyPass
I’m all for speeding up the game. But can we be certain that the slowness of the game contributed to fans walking out? I’m not so sure. Super rugby largely suffered from most fans only being able to, really, follow the games played in their own time zone. So at least a third of the fan base wasn’t engaged at any point in time. Second, New Zealand teams always winning. It’s like formula one. When one team dominates, people lose interest. After COVID, with SA leaving and Australia dipping in form, SR became an even greater one horse race. But surely if we believe that shaving seconds off lost time events in rugby is going to draw fans back, we should be shown some figures that supports this idea before we draw any major conclusions. Where are the stats that shows these changes have made that sort of impact? Does a rugby “fan” who lost interest because of ball in play time suddenly have a revived interest because we’ve saved or brought back into play a matter of seconds or a few minutes each game? I doubt it. I don’t thinks it’s even a noticeable difference to be impactful. The 20 min red card idea. Agreed. Let’s give it a go. But I think it’s fairer that the player sent off is substituted and plays no further part in the game as a consequence.
1 Go to commentsThose are pretty good draws for the two top Aussie teams. I certainly wouldn't want my Chiefs to have a quarter final in Brisbane. None of the top teams will want the Crusaders.
1 Go to commentsHonestly, I am a bit lost here …. Ireland - RSA was (at least in my opinion) perhaps (from a purely technical / rugby-skills-show point of view) the pinnacle of the RWC2023 - almost flawless playing (putting aside the kicking of RSA which was the difference between the two teams), rugby at it’s very best …. if I were a Bok and after the game some Irish lads came around saying “see you in 5 weeks same place”, I definitely wouldn’t have thought of it as being in any way “arrogant”, rather a sort of jolly “if we both continue to play like this, no one could stop us” - besides, few of us fans would have, at that time, been surprised to see the same teams playing on 23 september and 28 october 2023 ….. well, we all know Ireland chose to hit a slump to keep the QF curse alive …..
134 Go to commentsThere’s value gleaned from having an All Black star running and training with your team. How many games he starts (or even where he plays in the backline) will be decided on a week by week basis based on the needs for that week. But the overall learning and growth for all concerned, I’d think, is massively beneficial. Especially for Irish players.
8 Go to commentsSon, whith just " raw athlete “ , you are able to beat “ better rugby players “ by 74 points…. May be England should recruit in athletics….
1 Go to commentsPffft. It’s not a one-way street bud and Irish teams don’t seem to have had an issue taking kiwi players previously.
8 Go to commentsParticularly great to have captain Scott Barrett back after going off last week for the Crusaders. Codie Taylor a real leader and mighty Tamaiti Williams join Fletcher Newell in the front row. Those 2 will make a big difference. Great bench with the likes of Tom Christie, Jamie Hannah etc who are playing well. Should be a great derby.
1 Go to commentsDoes a blitz defence not have a weekness against a well-placed grubber kick, perhaps angled cleverly. All the defence is up and the full-back can only cover so much ground. Thoughts?
28 Go to commentsWhile Iose is destructive in the Canes set-up, he is not big for an international 8 and could struggle against the top teams. With his speed, he could be developed into a seven but, as Ben points out, he doesn’t show a scavenging game with the Canes or make dominating tackles. Sotutu has shown a step up this year and attitude plus motivation seems to be the big areas of growth. Deserves another AB shot imo.
3 Go to commentsNaholo is my only question mark for this side. He wasn’t the only one who had a forgettable game against the Brumbies but he was passive, defensively poor and generally lacked energy. Needs to get a whole lot busier for me. I would have liked to see Sullivan on that wing with Higgins on the bench (if staying with a 6-2 as BeegMike points out on here!)
3 Go to commentsWell, I am sure that Eben said exactly what he meant to say, exactly how he meant to say it. Does he strike you as a man that doesn't know arrogance when he sees it. He should know it because he has shaken the arrogance out of many foes before.
134 Go to commentsPls get it into your thick arrogant heads that the final was played by two Southern Hemisphere teams. The best against the best and that Argentina was just unlucky otherwise non of the Northetn Hemisphere teams would have seen the light of day.
134 Go to commentsAs long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
4 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
134 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
8 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
8 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
3 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to comments