Juan-Philip Smith

Juan-Philip Smith (born 30 March 1994 in Bloemhof, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player who plays for the Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR) in the United States.[1] His regular position is scrum-half, but he has played as a fly-half on occasion.

Not to be confused with JP Smith (rugby union), a rugby union prop.

JP Smith
Full nameJuan-Philip Smith
Date of birth (1994-03-30) 30 March 1994
Place of birthBloemhof, South Africa
Height1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Weight93 kg (205 lb; 14 st 9 lb)
SchoolQueen's College, Queenstown
UniversityUniversity of Pretoria
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half / Fly-half
Current team Seattle Seawolves
Youth career
2010–2011 Border Bulldogs
2013–2015 Blue Bulls
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015 UP Tuks 0 (0)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015 Blue Bulls 4 (0)
2016–2017 Free State XV 20 (8)
2017 Free State Cheetahs 6 (2)
2018 Southern Kings 2 (0)
2018 Eastern Province Elephants 8 (10)
2019–present Seattle Seawolves 0 (0)
Correct as of 27 October 2018
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014 South Africa Under-20 5 (0)
Correct as of 22 April 2018

Career

Border (2010–11)

At high school level, Smith earned provincial selection to represent Border. He played for them at the 2010 Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in Upington and the 2011 Under-18 Craven Week – South Africa's premier high school competition – in Kimberley. He was also eligible to play at the 2012 Craven Week, but was not picked as he had agreed to join the Pretoria-based Blue Bulls[2] and fell foul of a newly adopted Border Rugby Football Union policy of not picking players for their Craven Week squad that already signed contracts with other unions.

Blue Bulls and South Africa Under-20 (2013–15)

He started in twelve matches for the Blue Bulls U19 side in the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, including three matches as a fly-half. He scored a total of 31 points during the season, including 14 points in their match against Western Province U19, which also saw Smith score his only try of the competition.[3] The Blue Bulls won all twelve of their matches during the regular season to finish top of the log and to quality for the title play-offs. Smith started in their 37–21 victory over the Leopards U19s in the semi-final[4] and in the final, where he helped his side become champions by beating Gauteng rivals Golden Lions U19 35–23.[5]

In 2014, he was included in the Blue Bulls' squad for the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition. However, he failed to appear in this competition as he was included in the South Africa Under-20 squad that participated at the IRB Junior World Championship held in New Zealand. He played off the bench in their first match as South Africa beat Scotland 61–5,[6] and started their other two matches in the pool stage, a 33–24 win over hosts New Zealand[7] and a 21–8 win over Samoa[8] to finish top of their pool. He started their semi-final match as they again met New Zealand in the semi-finals and beat them, this time by a 32–25 scoreline,[9] to qualify to their second final. He remained the starting scrum-half for the final, but was on the losing side as England won the match 21–20 to consign South Africa to the runner-up spot.[10]

Smith returned to domestic action with the Blue Bulls U21s in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He started six of their matches in the competition and appeared as a replacement in four more. He also scored one of the Blue Bulls' 21 tries in their 143–0 victory over Border U21 on the opening day of the season[11] and eventually helped them to finish the regular season in second position. He started their 23–19 victory over the Golden Lions U21s in the semi-final,[12] but did not feature in the final, where the Blue Bulls beat Western Province U21 20–10 to be crowned champions.[13]

He was again named in the Blue Bulls' squad for the 2015 Vodacom Cup. After being an unused replacement in their 20–18 victory over eventual champions the Pumas,[14] he made his domestic first class debut in their next match, a 44–0 victory over Namibian side Welwitschias in Windhoek.[15] After his first appearance on domestic soil against the Griffons a week later,[16] he made his first start in their quarter final match against a Free State XV, helping the Blue Bulls to a 44–21 victory.[17] He also started in their semi-final match against Western Province, but ended on the losing side as the team from Cape Town ran out 10–6 winners.[18]

He featured in nine of the Blue Bulls U21s' matches in the 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He scored a try in their 41–31 victory over the Leopards,[19] but experience a poor season overall as the defending champions finished in fifth spot on the log to fail to qualify for the play-offs.

Cheetahs (2016–)

Smith was named in the training squad of Bloemfontein-based Super Rugby franchise the Cheetahs for the 2016 Super Rugby season.[20]

References
  1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – JP Smith". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. "WP lok twee top-losskakels na die Kaap" (in Afrikaans). Die Burger. 11 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 46-16 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 37-21 Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  5. "SA Rugby Match Centre – MTN Golden Lions 23-35 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 61-5 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – New Zealand 24-33 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Samoa 8-21 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 32-25 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 21-20 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U21 143-0 Border U21". South African Rugby Union. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  12. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U21 23-19 Golden Lions U21". South African Rugby Union. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  13. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U21 10-20 Blue Bulls U21". South African Rugby Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  14. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 20-18 Steval Pumas". South African Rugby Union. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  15. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB Welwitschias 0-44 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  16. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 40-21 Down Touch Griffons". South African Rugby Union. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  17. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 44-21 Toyota Free State XV". South African Rugby Union. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  18. "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 10-6 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  19. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U21 41-31 Leopards U21". South African Rugby Union. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  20. "Toyota Cheetah Super Rugby Pre-season squad announced" (Press release). Cheetahs. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
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