 Smith playing in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Albertus Stephanus Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1993-06-11)11 June 1993 (age 32) Lydenburg, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 100 kg (220 lb; 15 st 10 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Hoër Tegniese Skool Middelburg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative | Tiaan Pretorius (cousin) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Albertus Stephanus 'Kwagga' Smith (born 11 June 1993) is a South African professionalrugby union player who currently plays for theShizuoka Blue Revs inJapan Rugby League One and theSouth Africa national team.[2] His regular position is flanker.
He was a member of the South Africa Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the2016 Summer Olympics and the South Africa teams that won the2019 and2023 Rugby World Cups.
He played school rugby for HTS Middelburg inMpumalanga, which led to his inclusion in thePumas U18 squads that played at theCraven Week competitions in 2010 and 2011.
After school, he moved toJohannesburg, where he joined theGolden Lions. He started in nine matches for theGolden Lions U19 side during the2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring four tries.
He was selected in theSouth Africa U20 side that played at the2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France. His only appearance in the pool stages came when he came played off the bench in the 97–0 victory over theUnited States.[3] He didn't play in their matches againstEngland[4] andFrance,[5] but he did return to the bench for their semi-final clash withWales. He came on in the first half and scored one of South Africa's two tries in the match, but it wasn't enough to prevent them losing the match 18–17 as Wales progressed to the final.[6] Smith was again named in their final match of the tournament, the third place play-off againstNew Zealand, and once again scored a try for the Baby Boks to help the team to a 41–34 victory, clinching third place in the competition.[7]
He returned to domestic action later in 2013, making ten appearances for theGolden Lions U21 side in the2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring four tries in the process. He also played for the same team in the2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship.
At the end of 2013, Smith joined theSouth Africa Sevens side. He made his debut on the internationalIRB Sevens World Series circuit at the2013 South Africa Sevens event, helping his side to victory in their home tournament for just the second time ever, beatingNew Zealand in the Cup final.[8] He appeared in six legs of the2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series, following up the event in South Africa with appearances in theUnited States,Hong Kong,Japan,Scotland andLondon legs of the tournament.
He was selected in the squad that played at the2014 Commonwealth Games and helped his side to a 17–12 victory over aNew Zealand team that won the previous four consecutive tournaments.[9]
He was included in theGolden Lions first team squad for the2014 Currie Cup Premier Division and was named on the bench for their Round Two match against theEastern Province Kings inJohannesburg.[10]
Smith was included in a 12-man squad for the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro.[11] He was named in the starting line-up for their first match in Group B of the competition againstSpain, with South Africa winning the match 24–0.[12][13]
In July 2018, Smith joined Japanese sideShizuoka Blue Revs for the2018–19 Top League season.[14]
Smith was named in the South Africa squad for the2019 Rugby World Cup.[15] Smith played two matches, againstNamibia andCanada in the pool stage, starting both at openside flanker. South Africa went on to win the tournament, defeatingEngland in the final.[16]
In 2021, Smith was part of the South Africa squad for the tests against theBritish and Irish Lions andGeorgia. In the game against Georgia, he scored his first test try, playing as 8th man. He went on to feature for the rest of 2021, including the2021 Rugby Championship and2021 Autumn Nations Series, predominantly at the blindside flank and also number 8.
| Against | P | W | D | L | Tri | Pts | %Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 90.91 |
 Australia | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 50 |
 British & Irish Lions | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
 Canada | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 England | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 75 |
 France | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50 |
 Georgia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 100 |
 Ireland | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
 Italy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 100 |
 Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 Namibia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 New Zealand | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 58.33 |
 Romania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 Scotland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 Tonga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 100 |
 Wales | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Total | 63 | 46 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 55 | 73.02 |
Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Pts = Points Scored
| Try | Opposition | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia | Pretoria, South Africa | Loftus Versfeld Stadium | 2021 July tests | 2 July 2021 | Win | 40–9 |
| 2 | Australia | Adelaide, Australia | Adelaide Oval | 2022 Rugby Championship | 27 August 2022 | Loss | 25–17 |
| 3 | |||||||
| 4 | Italy | Genoa, Italy | Stadio Luigi Ferraris | 2022 end-of-year tests | 19 November 2022 | Win | 21–63 |
| 5 | New Zealand | Auckland, New Zealand | Mount Smart Stadium | 2023 Rugby Championship | 15 July 2023 | Loss | 35–20 |
| 6 | New Zealand | London, England | Twickenham Stadium | 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches | 25 August 2023 | Win | 7–35 |
| 7 | Tonga | Marseille, France | Stade Vélodrome | 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B | 1 October 2023 | Win | 49–18 |
| 8 | Australia | Brisbane, Australia | Lang Park | 2024 Rugby Championship | 10 August 2024 | Win | 7–33 |
| 9 | New Zealand | Johannesburg, South Africa | Ellis Park Stadium | 2024 Rugby Championship | 31 August 2024 | Win | 31–27 |
| 10 | Australia | Cape Town, South Africa | Cape Town Stadium | 2025 Rugby Championship | 23 August 2025 | Win | 30–22 |
| 11 | New Zealand | Wellington, New Zealand | Wellington Regional Stadium | 2025 Rugby Championship | 13 September 2025 | Win | 10–43 |
Lions
South Africa
South Africa 7's
