Len Smith

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Australian national rugby league captain

Len Smith was an Australian representative rugby union and rugby league player, a dual code international. He captained the Kangaroos in two Tests 1948 and was controversially omitted from the 1948/49 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain.

1 Rugby union career
2 Wartime
3 Rugby league career
4 Selection controversy
5 Sources
6 Links

[edit] Rugby union career

Smith played with the Eastern Suburbs RUFC in the 1903s and was selected as a Wallaby for the ill fated 1939 tour of Great Britain. Docking at Southhampton the day before WWII was declared the side left England without playing a game.

[edit] Wartime

Smith enlisted in the AIF during WWII and served in Palestine, Egypt and Syria before returning home in 1942. Playing rugby league in the army Smith realised that many union players in Sydney had converted and on his return he switched codes to be able to compete against the best players. He remained in the Army whilst playing for Newtown. For the 1944 semi-final against the St George Smith had to travel 25 hours by train from an army camp in Melbourne. Smith saw further active service and a command from 1944 to 1945 in New Guinea.

[edit] Rugby league career

Smith joined the Newtown Bluebags in 1942 and played with the club till 1947 aside from the 1945 season when he was on active service. He was selected in Sydney Firsts in 1946. In 1947 at age 28 he was selected as captain of Sydney and NSW and won the NSW Player of the Year award. He debuted for the Kangaroos in 1948 being named as captain-coach for a two Test series against New Zealand.

The Australians were beaten in a shock upset 21-19 in the 1st Test in Sydney but regrouped to win the 2nd test in Brisbane 13-4. Smith's tactics of running himself like a forward at the Kiwi centres was critical to the victory.

His international rugby league debut in Sydney against New Zealand on 29 May 1948 saw Smith become Australia's 23th dual code rugby international, following Doug McLean jnr and preceeding Ken Kearney. He was Australia's only dual code international of the 1940s and the first for 11 years.

[edit] Selection controversy

It seemed a mere formality that Smith would be chosen to lead the team of young inexperienced Kangaroos on the end of year 1948 Tour of England but on the night the side was announced Smith was inexplicably left out of the party.

It was unfathomable that the current Australian captain/coach having just won a Test would not be good enough to be in selected in the touring squad of 28. There was press uproar at the time and lobbying for a change by Newtown. Some of those involved at the time when interviewd many years later by sporting journalists still spoke bitterly of the travesty.

In 1998 Rugby League writer Sean Fagan interviewed Smith who confirmed his suspicion that his Catholicism was the cause of the problem. Several members of the selection panel were Masons and at that time the touring captain often needed to speak at Northern English clubs with Masonic links.

The 1948 Kangaroos failed to win a Test in England.

After football Len Smith became a respected sportswriter and was involved in the trotting industry.