Brian Anthony Smith (9 September 1966 – 12 August 2026) was an Australian rugby union coach, player and rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for both Australia and Ireland in rugby union.
Early life Smith was born in St George, Queensland on 9 September 1966. He completed secondary school at Brisbane State High School before being selected to play rugby union for Queensland.
In 1983, Smith represented Australian Schools when they defeated New Zealand Schools 12–9 in Sydney, Australia.
Career Smith won six caps for Australia in 1987. He played in two Varsity matches for Oxford University RFC as well as captaining them. He played for Wests Bulldogs. He also played nine times for Ireland between 1989 and 1991 as a fly-half. For the 1990/91 season he played club rugby for Leicester Tigers in England.
He later played rugby league for the Balmain Tigers (1991 to 1993) and Eastern Suburbs (1994) in the NSWRL competition. In 1992, he played City Origin. He played mainly as a and also as a .
Smith coached rugby union at the Ricoh Rugby Club in Japan, Eastern Suburbs in Sydney, Bath Rugby, the youth setup in New South Wales, and was coaching co-ordinator at the ACT Brumbies. He coached at representative level with the Australia Sevens side. While Director of Rugby at London Irish in the Guinness Premiership, Smith was linked with the Ireland job as a replacement for Eddie O'Sullivan. In July 2008 he was appointed England attack coach.
Death Smith's died from cancer on 12 August 2026, at the age of 59. At the time of his death, he was Head of Sport at Scots College, Sydney.
References
External links
Sportingheroes profile The life of Brian : International Rugby News (archived)