Hannah Smith (rugby union)

Hannah Smith (born 30 October 1992) is a Scottish rugby player from Falkirk. Since 2013, she has played in multiple Women's Six Nations Championships, including the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship. She was selected for the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics Team GB Rugby Sevens.[1]

Hannah Smith
Date of birth (1992-10-30) 30 October 1992
Place of birthFalkirk, Scotland
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb; 12 st 4 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011-2018 Hillhead Jordan RFC ()
2019-present Watsonians ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013–2022 Scotland 37 (30)

Smith announced her retirement from international rugby at the end of 2022.

Club career

Since 2019, Smith has played for Tennent's Premiership side Watsonians.[2]

In 2011, she joined Hillhead Jordanhill RFC. In 2017, the team won the Sarah Beaney Cup.[3][4] Smith was named BT Women's Premier League Player of the Season for her performances during the tournament.[5] She scored the winning try of the final against Murrayfield Wanderers, also winning player of the match for the final.[6]

The team went on to win the Sarah Beaney Cup Final against Watsonians in 2018, with Smith securing player of the match following multiple tries.[7][8]

International career

Hannah made her full international debut for Scotland against France in the 2013 Six Nations and has played internationally for Scotland regularly since then.[9]

She was selected for the Scotland Women 7s squad ahead of the 2017 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Trophy. During the series, Scotland defeated Ireland 26-14 and Smith finished top of the DHL Performance Tracker for the tournament.[10]

In the 2020 Women's Six Nations Championship, she played in Scotland's opening match against Ireland but was forced to withdraw for the following matches due to a shoulder injury.[11]

She was part of the squad for the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship, and scored Scotland's try in the defeat to England; its first try against England in three years.[12] However, she did not play in all the subsequent matches in order to continue her training for the GB Sevens team for the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics .[13]

In an interview with Sky Sports in April 2021, she spoke of the GB team's disappointment at the postponement of the championship, when interviewed about their disrupted training regime.[14]

Smith announced her retirement from international rugby after the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.[15][16]

Personal life

Smith is a veterinary surgeon.[17] With the support of Scottish Rugby, she took a sabbatical to focus on rugby in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympic Games: “I was struggling to balance my work and rugby – it was becoming too much – and Scottish Rugby luckily were happy to help me out and get me off work because I was starting to struggle training at a high level."[18]

Smith began playing rugby at the age of 17 at Stirling County – the same club as her brother Matt, a former Glasgow Warriors and Scotland U20 player.[19]

Honours

References
  1. "Meet Team GB's Rugby Sevens women of 'mystery' going for Olympic Gold at Tokyo 2020". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  2. "Preview: Women's XV looking forward to the new season". Watsonians RFC. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  3. "Sarah Beaney Cup Final. Murrayfield Wanderers 23 Hillhead/Jordanhill 26". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  4. "Hillhead win cup in Scotland". Scrum Queens. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  5. "Hannah Smith SRU Top Player". Hillhead Jordanhill. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  6. Rutherford, Stuart (22 April 2017). "Sarah Beaney Cup: Murrayfield Wanderers 23-26 Hillhead/Jordanhill". The Offside Line. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  7. "Sarah Beaney Cup Final | Hillhead/Jordanhill too powerful for Watsonians". Scottish Rugby Union. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  8. Bathgate, Stuart (28 April 2018). "Sarah Beaney Cup Final: Hillhead/Jordanhill overrun Watsonians". The Offside Line. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  9. "Hannah Smith SRU Top Player". Hillhead Jordanhill. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  10. Team, The Offside Line (16 June 2019). "Hannah Smith shines as Scotland Women 7s finish on a high in Biarritz". The Offside Line. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  11. Bathgate, Stuart (7 February 2020). "Scotland v England: Hannah Smith and Megan Gaffney ruled out by injury". The Offside Line. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  12. "Scotland Women's Six Nations Squad 2021 - Scotland 27-20 Wales". Rugby World. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  13. "Scotland make four changes for Italy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  14. "Meet Team GB's Rugby Sevens women of 'mystery' going for Olympic Gold at Tokyo 2020". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  15. Renton, Colin (1 December 2022). "That was the month that was: November 2022". The Offside Line. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  16. Bathgate, Stuart (15 December 2022). "Scottish Rugby agrees new contracts with 28 women players". The Offside Line. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  17. "Hannah Smith". Scottish Rugby Union. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  18. "'It's such a huge thing. Every time I think about it, I feel a bit sick'". www.rugbypass.com. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  19. "Exclusive: Team GB and Scottish Rugby star Hannah Smith talks transitioning between 15s and sevens". GiveMeSport. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
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