Ask Steven: Who was the last to play rugby and cricket for England?
John Griffiths
July 31, 2015
Mike Smith
Mike Smith© Barratts/EMPICS Sport

Who was the last to play rugby and cricket for England? Peter Moss, England

M.J.K.(Mike) Smith was the last to play Test cricket and win a rugby cap for England.

He was capped at stand-off against Wales at Twickenham in January 1956 from junior club, Hinkley, having made a deep impression on the English selectors with a brilliant display as Onllwyn Brace's partner for Oxford in the Varsity Match earlier that season.

Oxford beat Cambridge 9-5 and Brace, too, was fast-tracked for international honours at Twickenham. He faced Smith in the international, helping Wales to an 8-3 win - only their fourth victory at Twickenham - and the Englishman never again played rugby for his country. He made his England cricket debut against New Zealand in the summer of 1958 and went on to play fifty Tests, his last 25 as captain between 1964 and 1966.

Mike Smith hung up his rugby boots when the Sunday Telegraph was launched in February 1961, becoming the first in a line of versatile sportsmen (who later included Wilf Wooller, Tony Lewis and Steve James) to contribute to both the rugby and cricket columns of that newspaper.

Only three others in the past 100 years played rugby for England and appeared in Test Cricket: "Tuppy" Owen-Smith was an England full-back and captain in the 1930s (and played cricket for his native South Africa); Martin Donnelly was capped once as a centre in 1947 (and played cricket for New Zealand); and Clive van Ryneveld was an England centre in 1949 who later played cricket for South Africa.

Maurice Turnbull, Wales's scrum-half in their first Twickenham victory in 1933, had earlier played Test cricket for England.

© John Griffiths

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