Northampton Saints pay tribute to 'one of their finest' as former prop Tom Smith dies aged 50

Former Scotland rugby star Tom Smith will go down as one of the "finest players to ever wear the Northampton Saints jersey", according to club chairman John White.

Tributes have been flooding in after the 50-year-old died on Wednesday.

Smith, who made 193 appearances for the Saints, was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in 2019.

His death has sent shockwaves through the rugby world, most notably at Franklin's Gardens where he'll always be remembered as a legend.

“Without doubt one of the finest players ever to pull on the Black, Green and Gold jersey," chairman John White told the Saints' official website.

“He was an incredibly important player for Northampton during his time here, but it was his remarkable character off the field as well that made him so popular with the playing group and with our supporters to this day."

White also confirmed that the Saints are planning a tribute to Smith at their next home match against reigning Premiership champions Harlequins on April 29.

His loss is also being felt in Scotland, for whom Smith won 61 caps, with his biggest achievement coming in 1999 when the country lifted the Five Nations trophy.

He was a key part of the 1997 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa as well, starting all three tests, where he was coached by Sir Ian McGeechan.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, McGeechan described Smith as "Scotland’s greatest prop forward of the professional era, if not of all time."

“Pound for pound there was no one tougher, but he was also far ahead of his time in how skilful he was," he wrote.

“In person, he was quiet, but when he spoke everyone listened because they knew he didn’t waste words. He was a great sounding board for a coach. If things weren’t working he would tell you.

"Not only has rugby lost one of its finest players but also one of its greatest human beings.”

Mattie Stewart played alongside Smith for both Northampton Saints and Scotland and said it was a "privilege" to call him a teammate.

“He was always a shy and quiet man, but he was a fantastic bloke off the pitch with a wonderfully dry sense of humour, and a real family man as well," recalled Stewart.

"Tom had such a strong character and that was clear from the way he handled his diagnosis. We will all miss him greatly.”