San Diego Legion re-signed Canadian international Michael Smith for the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The 23-year-old openside flanker (24 in March) is 6’3” and 215 lbs.
Michael played 340 minutes in 8 matches, starting 4 during the 2021 season. He also was named to the matchday roster for a 9th match.He was also named Rookie of the Season by the Legion.
During the Summer and Fall international season, he was capped 5 times for Canada.
Michael is from Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. He attended Earl Marriott Secondary before enrolling at the University of British Columbia where he graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacology.
Michael played age-grade rugby for British Columbia, as well as for Rugby Canada. In 2018 he was the vice-captain for the U20s at the World Rugby U20s Trophy competition in Romania.
Michael is an athlete-scholar, who plans to attend medical school. At UBC he was an Academic All-Canadian from 2017-2020, as well as on the Dean’s Honour List. He was the 2018-19 Wesbrook Scholar and Sherwood Lett Memorial Scholarship recipient.
In rugby, he was the Thunderbirds team captain for 2019-2020, a first-team University All-Star in 2018, and won the Bobby Gail Memorial Trophy given to the Outstanding Graduating Male Athlete of the Year in 2020. He also helped the rugby team win back-to-back Canadian University Championships in 2017 and 2018, with a finals appearance in 2019.
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