Summary
NO ONE can accuse Tom Smith of taking the easy option. In his playing days he was a little man who worked in a world inhabited by giants, an epileptic who became an articulate spokesman for those with the condition and now, in his first coaching post, he must somehow, someway fill Andy Robinson's sizeable boots. It's fair to conclude that the former Scotland and Lions prop enjoys a challenge.
His statistics are well known: 61 Scotland caps, the first man on the team sheet in six consecutive Lions Tests and the last Scot to start a Lions Test (all of eight humiliating years ago) but now he has abandoned the grunt and shunt trade he has plied for so long to become a professional coach; it's a little like asking a Rolls- Royce aero engineer to pilot the plane. After almost a decade outside of Scotland Smith has been gifted a coveted professional post at Edinburgh ahead of any number of domestic coaches with a proven track record to back up their claims.See the full content of this document
Extract
Smith's Big Push Forward
Smith's appointment as head coach Rob Moffat's No.2, following hard on the heels of the equally inexperienced Gregor Townsend's promotion to the Scotland coaching staff, has not met with universal approval. In mitigation the prop spent one season as Northampton's official scrum coach but it's little enough consolation to those that have sweated at the coal...
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