Ronald Cove-Smith

Ronald Cove-Smith
	Ronald Cove-Smith in 1933
Date of birth	26 November 1899
Place of birth	Edmonton, London, England
Date of death	9 March 1988 (aged 88)
Place of death	Brighton, England
School	Merchant Taylors' School
University	Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Occupation(s)	Doctor
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Position(s)	Lock
Amateur team(s)
Years	Team
	Cambridge University R.U.F.C.
–	Old Merchant Taylors
–	King's College Hospital RFC
International career
Years	Team
1921–1929	England
1924	British Isles

Ronald Cove-Smith (26 November 1899 – 9 March 1988) was an physician and sportsman. He represented Old Merchant Taylors and King's College Hospital RFC. Internationally he represented the England national rugby union team in 29 tests (1921–1929) (seven as captain) and also captained the British Isles in four tests on the 1924 British Lions tour to South Africa as a lock. He finished on the winning side in 22 of his 29 England matches. He was commissioned in the Grenadier Guards in 1918–1919. In addition to rugby he excelled at swimming and water-polo, winning half-blues in each.^[1]

Rugby career

Cove-Smith was a talented schoolboy player at Merchant Taylors School, and carried that talent through to university, playing in three Varsity Matches for Cambridge University from 1919 to 1921, winning his sporting 'Blue'.^[2] He led the 1924 British Lions tour to South Africa, losing three of the four tests and drawing one. As captain, he led England to the 1928 Grand Slam and he was inducted onto the World Rugby Museum Wall of Fame^[3] in 2001.

He also led a distinguished medical career and served as a vice-president of the British Medical Association.

Personal life

In 1933, he married Florence Margaret Harris.^[4] Together, they had three children: Rona Cove-Smith (now Blythe), Penelope Cove-Smith (now Newell-Price) and John Rodney Cove-Smith. Penelope and Rodney followed in their father's footsteps by reading medicine and Rona followed her mother in becoming a nurse, later co-authoring Guidelines for Clinical Nursing Practices: Related to a Nursing Model.^[5]

References

^ "Ronald Cove-Smith : Rugby Player". militarian.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
^ Griffiths, John (1990). British Lions. Swindon: Crowood Press. p. 38. ISBN 1-85223-541-1.
^ Ronald Cove-Smith at the RFU Wall of Fame
^ "DR. R. COVE-SMITH. Famous Rugby Player Engaged". The Straits Times. 12 September 1932. p. 6. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
^ Blythe, Rona, McCall, Janice M., Jamieson, Elizabeth (1988) Guidelines for Clinical Nursing Practices: Related to a Nursing Model. Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 0443037949

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Leonard Corbett	English National Rugby Union Captain 1928 – February 1929	Succeeded by Joe Periton
Preceded by Tommy Smyth	British & Irish Lions Captain 1924	Succeeded by David MacMyn