Hero of battles past, Smith lines up for biggest fight of his life
THE passing of 22 years dims the memory and we forget how bold a selection call it was when the Lions opted for a relatively unknown Scotsman called Tom Smith to wear the No.1 jersey in their Test opener against the world champions on that summer’s tour of South Africa.
Quietly spoken and slightly awkward, with just three caps to his name, standing at barely 5ft 10ins and weighing 16 stone dripping wet, Smith did not look like the man to neutralise the power of the home pack, and specifically opposite number Adrian Garvey – three years more experienced, five inches taller and almost two stone heavier.
Paul Wallace, who was selected at tight-head for the tourists, wasn’t much bigger and he was up against the might of Os “the Ox” du Randt.
Nobody gave the Lions a chance against that formidable pack but forwards coach Jim Telfer, Wallace and Smith believed differently. They turned their lack of bulk into a weapon by taking the scrum so low the Springboks couldn’t cope, and in the process set the tone for a famous series victory. There were a lot of heroes to come out of that 1997 tour, and Smith and Wallace are up there near the top of the list.
“Tom Smith at that time changed propping with his carrying game and his scrummaging game,” said Graham Rowntree, who was expected to be first-choice loosehead on that tour, some years later.
Smith went on to tour again with the Lions in 2001, playing in all three Tests against Australia, and represented Scotland 61 times in total – including during the 1999 Five Nations triumph. He carried on playing at the top with Northampton until 2009, by which time he was 38, before moving into coaching. He remains the last Scotsman to start a Lions Test.
The unwavering determination and ferocious fighting spirit of his playing days was evident again yesterday morning when an interview recorded by the BBC with Smith revealed he has stage four colorectal cancer. The disease has now advanced to his liver and brain. He is undergoing intensive chemotherapy aimed at halting the tumour’s growth, and radiotherapy to treat the lesions in his brain.
It is devastating news for Smith (who is only 48), for his wife Zoe, and for his three kids Angus (18), Amelie (17) and Teddy (9).
This is a battle which makes those showdowns with Garvey and du Randt appear child’s play, and though the odds are stacked against him, it was made clear that no backward steps would be taken.
Asked what his greatest fear is, he took a minute to compose himself. “I think I want my family to be safe,” he said. “Regardless of what happens, I am going to fight and there is no doubt – no question – about that. But I want my house to be happy. There are tough times ahead, regardless, and it is my job to keep us positive.
“I can’t really articulate what my greatest fear is. But the uncertainty is something that provokes fear, and I’d like to bring as much certainty as I can to the future of my family. That would help me.
“But I’m ready for the fight. It is quite daunting because some of the treatment is pretty unpleasant – I don’t feel gung-ho about it because I’ve had two rounds of chemotherapy already and didn’t really enjoy it very much, so it is not ‘bring it on’ – but I am already trying to do the right things, changing my lifestyle...”
There are of course comparisons with the situation faced by his Scotland and Lions team-mate Doddie Weir, who has also found himself fighting a seemingly hopeless battle against a cruel disease.
While Weir has always been more outgoing and has thrown himself into raising funds and awareness for the fight against Motor Neurone Disease, Smith is more reserved. However, he is determined to make his mark in the battle against cancer, and a fundraising dinner in London in March 2020 is being planned, although it is not clear at this stage whether Smith himself will make it.
In addition, a fundraising page has been set up to raise money for charities focusing on cancer.