Brian Smith – who was part of Martin Johnson’s England coaching staff at the 2011 World Cup – has died aged 59 after a battle with cancer.
The Australian joined then national boss Johnson’s international set-up in 2008 and also had spells working with both Bath and London Irish.
He had previously represented both his homeland and Ireland as a player.
England’s 2011 World Cup was a disaster and troubled by off-field problems, chiefly when centre Manu Tuilagi famously jumped from a boat into Auckland harbour.
After that tournament – where England were beaten by France in the quarter-finals – Johnson resigned as head coach and Smith returned to Irish.
His most recent job was as head of sport at Scots College, a private school in Sydney. ‘Brian had been very unwell in recent months and was battling an aggressive cancer,’ Dr Ian Lambert, the Scots College principal, wrote in a letter to the Australian school.
‘This is very sad news for our college community and I know it will come as a shock to many of you who knew and worked closely with him.
Brian Smith was part of Martin Johnson’s England coaching staff at the 2011 World Cup
‘Our immediate thoughts are with Brian’s wife Lisa, his daughters Ruby and Santana, and his son Chilli.’
Smith spent a season playing for Leicester, which is where he first got to know iconic former England coach and 2003 World Cup-winning captain Johnson.
Angus Bell, the Australia prop who was coached by Smith as a teenager, paid his respects ahead of the Wallabies facing Japan on Saturday.
‘He was coaching at the Scots school and coached a lot of us coming through the grades,’ Bell said. ‘I was 16 and it is fair to say I wouldn’t have played anywhere near as good without him. Me, [Wallabies lock] Jeremy Williams and Will Harris from the [Western] Force were really close with him. He was a great bloke, a great father and a great coach. It’s very sad.’
