San Diego Legion re-signed Canadian international Michael Smith for the 2023 Major League Rugby season. The 25-year-old openside flanker is 6’3” and 215 lbs.
Michael will rejoin the team after he completes his first year of medical school. In 2022 he played 1058 minutes in 16 matches, starting 13, and scored 2 tries. After the 2022 season, he played for the Castaway Wanderers in the British Columbia Premier League.
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 seasons, 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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