Ollie Smith knows he has “massive shoes to fill” as a Scotland full-back following Stuart Hogg’s recent retirement. But the Glasgow Warriors player is confident that, far from being a mere stand-in for the former national captain, he can prove himself to be his own man with his own style of play.
Smith, who starts in the No 15 jersey when Scotland take on Georgia tomorrow in their last Rugby World Cup warm-up game, is one of only two specialist full-backs in Gregor Townsend’s squad of 33 for the tournament in France alongside Edinburgh rival Blair Kinghorn. He knows he may only be getting this chance because Hogg opted to call it a day after deciding his body could no longer cope with what was being demanded of it, but he is nonetheless determined to show that he is up to the challenge.
“It came as a shock to us,” Smith said yesterday when asked about Hogg’s announcement last month that he was retiring from all rugby with immediate effect. “Obviously it's not how he wanted to go out. He's been a massive asset to the team for many years and someone I took a lot from whenever we trained in camp.
“With a guy like Hoggy, there's massive shoes to fill. He started 99 games for Scotland and was one of the best players every time he played. It's obviously not easy [to replace him], but I feel personally like I'm trying to be my own sort of player.
“When I was a lot younger I used to watch a lot of rugby from all over and take stuff from their game. Hoggy, with his speed and kicking game, is something I looked at as well.
“For me it was always a case of looking at these players, and not try and be like them but take something from their game and put it into my game so I can become a more complete player.
“My game might vary from what Hoggy could do, but I can still help the team be in the best place to try and win games. It does come with a bit of pressure, but I try not to think about that too much.”
If Smith ever feels in need of a spot of light relief from the rigours of Test rugby, he knows he can turn to his trumpet-playing father, who has become a familiar sight - or rather sound - at both Glasgow and Scotland games. Gavin Smith was at the national team’s last match, the narrow defeat by France in Saint-Etienne two weeks ago. Despite a little local difficulty then, he plans to be back in the host country along with his wife, Alison, when the Rugby World Cup kicks off.
“My Mum’s going out to France with him,” 23-year-old Ollie continued. “It’s awesome to see them, even at Glasgow games. And to have Dad at Saint-Etienne, it was nice to see a familiar face after the game. And he’s always buzzing to see me play.
“There was an incident in Saint-Etienne. He got the trumpet taken off him and it got put behind a bar - and then they managed to charm it from the bar and get it back.
“We were warming up behind the posts in Saint-Etienne and I could hear him playing it, and I just turned to my left and he was sat in my eyeline.
“I always know when he’s going to play it, because he’s told me he’ll only play it when there’s a try or a fight or something like that. He’s got different songs for each player, so we’ll see how he works it into the games.”
One of Gavin’s most frequently heard renderings in recent seasons at Warriors matches has been the Z Cars theme tune, which he plays whenever Everton supporter Johnny Matthews scores a try. The hooker scored five tries in the one Challenge Cup game against the Dragons back in April, which did not leave much time to play anything else.
But what should we expect to hear if and when Smith junior scores? “It’s Ole, Ole, Ole,” Ollie explained. “It’s simple and snappy.”
