LA Giltinis Signs Tas Smith

The LA Giltinis signed Tasman Smith for the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The 20-year-old scrumhalf is 6’0″ and 190 lbs.

Tas was born in New York when his parents were working in advertising, before moving to Australia as a baby. He attended Cranbrook High school, where he was the captain of the rugby team’s 1st XV in 2019, and also played cricket while there. He also played for the New South Wales Schools in 2019 and was the captain of the 1st XV.

Smith was selected for the USA Under-20s in May 2020 and for an Australian Under-20s camp early in 2021. He joins the Giltinis after attending the University of Sydney, where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, and played rugby.

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“The shame was the chance with the USA and the Under-20s Americas Rugby Championship were both canceled because of COVID-19 and the Aussie Under-20s camp was called off as well,” Smith said.

His club season for Sydney University in Australia in 2021 was shut down mid-season so he is eager to train consistently and play in Los Angeles.

“To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of playing in the US until I was contacted about the Under-20s opportunity,” Smith said.

“I watched the Giltinis’ first season on live stream back in Australia because the team had a few Aussie legends involved and it was just good attacking rugby.

“It’s so random but exciting to now be involved in Los Angeles.”

Smith has set himself clear goals to improve his skills and game awareness in the strong learning environment at the Giltinis.“I want to get my running game and physicality going more so this is a great opportunity with the Giltinis,” Smith added.

Head coach Stephen Hoiles believes the extra depth at scrumhalf is a big plus for the Giltinis.“Tas has a crisp pass and all the right attributes. There are parts of his game to work on and that’s exactly what he’ll get being around (assistant coaches) Orene Ai’i and Adam Ashley-Cooper,” Hoiles said.