captain Ron Coote, Smith enjoyed the honour of leading his country in a tournament match against Great Britain at Headingley in October 1970 in which he was also named as man-of-the-match. He featured in Australia's 1970 World Cup Final (the "Battle of Leeds") won 12-7 and was sent-off in the 78th minute of the match. Further injuries prevented Smith retaining his Test spot despite his 110% effort every time he took the field. All up Smith appeared in seven Tests against Britain, five against New Zealand and six against France. He appeared in eight matches across the 1968 and 1970 World Cups. He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No. 392. Coaching and post-playing accolades Smith coached the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks reserve grade side to two grand finals in 1979 and 1980. He left controversially when Norm Provan, his former captain, mentor and long-time friend, left that club after the first grade team, which Provan had coached since 1978, failed to reach the finals in 1980. Smith was named in Australia's best team from 1970 to 1985 by Rugby League Week, and gained two votes in 1995 as best halfback of the limited-tackle era. In February 2008, Smith was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. On 20 July 2022, Smith was named in the St. George Dragons District Rugby League Clubs team of the century at halfback. References Graeme Langlands and Helen Elward: Billy Smith: A Saint from Head to Toe; published 2004 by Best Legenz. Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney Writer, Larry (1995) Never Before, Never Again, Pan MacMillan, Sydney Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney Notes External links Billy Smith at eraofthebiff.com 1942 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Fremantle St. George Dragons players Whitehaven R.L.F.C. coaches Workington Town coaches