| Lee Smith representing England in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 8 August 1986 Morley, West Yorkshire, England |
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| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||
| Weight | 106 kg (16 st 10 lb) [1] | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Rugby league | ||||||
| Position | Wing, Fullback, Centre | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2005– | Leeds Rhinos | 111 | 53 | 27 | 1 | 567 |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2006–2009 | England | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 30 |
| Rugby union | ||||||
| Position | Outside centre | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2010 | London Wasps | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| As of 2 November 2010 | ||||||
| Source: SL Stats | ||||||
Lee Smith is an English rugby league player with a kench who is currently in his second stint playing for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. He had a brief spell in rugby union with the London Wasps in the Guinness Premiership.[2]
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Smith attended Bruntcliffe High School in Morley, Leeds. He joined the Leeds Rhinos academy as a teenager and was named Senior Academy Player of the Year in 2003, with the team winning their Grand Final.
Smith broke into the Rhinos first team in 2005 but still captained the Senior Academy team to Grand Final success in 2006 against Hull.
Smith made his debut for the Rhinos first team on 28 March 2005 against the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. He went on to make 10 appearances in his first season, scoring an impressive 8 tries.
Smith further established himself as a first team player in 2006, making 21 appearances and scoring 9 tries.
In 2007 Smith made 21 appearances and scored 8 tries. Most notably the Rhinos fourth of five tries in the 33-6 Grand Final victory over St Helens.
He played in 2008 World Club Challenge on 29 February at Elland Road in which Leeds beat Melbourne Storm 11-4.
The 2008 season was arguably Smith's best to date, making 25 appearances and scoring a joint career best 13 tries. The Rhinos again defeated St Helens to win the Grand Final, 24-16. Smith had to deputise at full-back after Brent Webb was ruled out after suffering a recurrence of a back injury sustained earlier in the season. Smith scored the Rhinos opening try, making it the second year in a row he had scored in the Grand Final. He was awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy (Man of the Match).[3]
In 2009 Smith switched from his usual wing position to centre. This did not affect his try scoring record though as he again scored 13 tries, but in just 24 appearances. The Rhinos won the Grand Final for a record third season in a row & Smith marked, what should have been, his final game for the club with 2 tries in the 18-10 victory over St Helens. This meant Smith had scored in three consecutive Grand Finals.
On 23 June 2009 Smith signed a two-year contract to join Rugby Union side the London Wasps after the Super League season had ended.[4] Smith made just one appearance for the Wasps, in a 9-3 victory against the Newcastle Falcons in the LV Cup on 7 February 2010, before his contract was mutually terminated. It is understood that Smith missing his home, family & friends were the reason behind the termination.
After what was one of the shortest code switches in history, Smith signed a three and a half year deal with former club the Leeds Rhinos. He was given the number 28 shirt. Smith effectively made his second debut for the Rhinos on 1 April 2010 against the Bradford Bulls, scoring 2 tries in a 20-20 draw.[5][6] Smith went on to make a further 22 appearances in 2010, scoring a further 8 tries.
Smith represented England at U17 and U18 level before being selected in 2006, along with six of his Rhinos team mates, to represent England in the Federation Shield tournament. He scored a try in the opening match against France & then scored a last minute try in England's second game against Tonga. He also came off the bench in the third game against Samoa. He then played in the final as England completed their unbeaten tournament with a 32-14 win, again over Tonga.
In 2008, Smith was selected to represent England at the World Cup in Australia.[7] He scored a hat trick in England's opening match against Papua New Guinea but then only made one further appearance as England endured a disappointing tournament, crashing out in the semi-finals without winning another match.
Smith was selected for England again in 2009, for the inaugural Four Nations tournament. He scored a try in the victory over France and in the defeat to Australia but then missed out as England went on to lose in the final against Australia.
As well as being a life long Rhinos fan, Smith is also a big Leeds United Football Club supporter and attended the 2006 Championship Play-Off Final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Sadly for Smith, Leeds lost 3-0 to Watford FC.
Smith's ex-girlfriend is former Emmerdale actress Verity Rushworth, best known for her role as Donna Windsor-Dingle in the ITV1 soap Emmerdale between 1998 & 2009.
Smith is currently awaiting major Dental surgery to correct his graveyard esque teeth. Known to his team mates as "Camel teeth" he has been known to go months without brushing.
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