The poignant 2021 Lions interview with the late Tom Smith

The British and Irish Lions have republished the now poignant interview they did last year ahead of the 2021 trip to South Africa with Tom Smith, the veteran of the 1997 and 2001 tours who tragically passed away on Wednesday at the age of 50. Smith became an overnight scrummaging sensation when he started all three Lions Tests in the 1997 series that was won 2-1 versus the Springboks 25 years ago. 

Having only been playing seconds team rugby in Dundee 18 months before the tour, the loosehead was quite an unknown heading into the South African adventure as he had only been capped on three occasions by Scotland. However, his efforts in the front row were the catalyst for a reputable career that featured 67 caps – 61 for Scotland and six for the Lions – as well as selection for two World Cups.

Smith was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in November 2019 and now that he has sadly passed on, the interview he did in 2021 with the Lions is now a treasured item as it fully encapsulated his rugby journey from a relative unknown into a tourist who will be fondly remembered for his contribution. 

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The Lions tweeted: “Recorded last year, Tom Smith reflected on his incredible journey. An icon of our game, also described by Ian McGeechan as ‘the greatest Scot of the professional era to date’. RIP Tom Smith. Lion #668.”

The four-and-a-half-minute audio with Smith is married with some excellent action from the famed 1997 tour and it tellingly explained how the prop came from nowhere to become a Lions star across the weeks that unfolded in South Africa.

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Recorded last year, Tom Smith reflected on his incredible journey. An icon of our game, also described by Sir Ian McGeechan as "the greatest Scot of the professional era to date."

RIP Tom Smith. Lion #668 ?? pic.twitter.com/JRgI1vw3VH

— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) April 6, 2022

“I think I got a call from a journalist,” began Smith about how he learned about his Lions selection. “I was unaware of all the fuss. At the beginning of that season, I’d no expectation that I would be going on the Lions tour. In many ways what makes the Lions tour so special is you can come from anywhere. I think 18 months before I was playing for Dundee High School, second XV. The Lions tour was pretty big then but it has grown in magnitude and relevance and importance hugely and perhaps 97 was the springboard for that some of that.”

Smith went on to speak about the team bonding and preparatory training that took place in Weybridge in England before the squad flew to South Africa and he also explained how he fought his way into the Test team front row alongside hooker Keith Wood and tighthead Paul Wallace after some collective trial and error at the set-piece. 

“Fran Cotton, Jim Telfer and Geech [Ian McGeechan] wanted to use part of that week to make sure everybody understood what a Lions was and why it was special. The tasks were designed to get us working together and just getting to know each other. That was the first time I had actually really trained defensive organisation in a really methodical way and that is something Geech brought to the table, that defence can actually be a weapon. 

“I don’t think there is a single player that arrives at the hotel on day one of a Lions tour and isn’t daunted by the challenge and by the faces around them and that is part of what makes it special. You are a bit out of your comfort zone. These are guys you have been battling with and fighting with over the last three or four seasons and it was daunting but in a good way.

“Getting on a Lions tour is partly about being in the right place at the right time and generally on tour a slightly below-par performance in the first three or four games… you might have played a good game but if you are part of a bad team performance then you have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, unfortunately. 

“I, fortunately, was part of the Mpumalanga match, they hadn’t lost at home for several seasons and they really fancied their chances. We played pretty well and beat them quite well so that changed perceptions and built up a bit of momentum. That is the way touring is, momentum keeps going. 

“Some of the scrum sessions were pretty demanding. We had a few tough days at the beginning of the tour in the set-piece. South Africans are generally physically bigger men, that is how they are made and we had to rise to that challenge. The first couple of scrums we went back about ten metres but we found our feet slowly but surely. 

“I remember at the end of the first Test feeling we had become stronger, more dominant, that was partly fitness and partly togetherness and unity… when the chips were down eight players were buying in and we felt we finished the stronger team. 

“If you get to a deciding Test it is very hard to win with the collateral damage, the tiredness, everything like that. You need to get the job done inside two Tests. There was massive relief and celebration (when the Lions win round two in Durban). 

“These are the finest of margins. I guess that was where the defensive organisation we had talked about at the beginning of the tour came in. Defence is not just about organisation, it embodies the attitude and commitment of the team.”

Those memories lived on vividly for years after that 1997 trip had ended, added Smith. “Geech, in one of his pre-match speeches in ’97, talked about when you see each other in 20 years’ time you’ll know. You don’t truly understand what that means until 20 years later you always bump into someone that is absolutely right. You were Lions together and it retains that specialness.”