and 1901, winning at least eight games, possibly as many as ten, and drawing two. His most productive game in an England shirt came in February 1899, when he netted three times in only five minutes and four times in all during the 13–2 demolition of Ireland. "Fine fellows they were," the great Welsh player Billy Meredith wrote of the Smith-led, all-amateur England forward line of 1895, "some six feet three in their socks and carrying plenty of weight with their inches. And they were not afraid to use their weight either, as some of us discovered. All in true sporting fashion, of course, for they were just as ready to take as to give hard knocks. Every man of them could run like a deer and before the game was over most of us were crying bellows to mend. Most of them were Corinthian stars and they played the Corinthian game. 'Twas a grand sight to see their forward line sweeping down the field, though probably our backs didn't think so." He made a total of 20 appearances for England (scoring 11 goals), between 1893 and 1901. Some authorities, including the author of the article on Smith published in the Dictionary of National Biography, credit him with 21 caps, one of which was won in the unofficial 12–0 victory over Germany in 1901. Playing style G.O. Smith was renowned throughout his playing career for his exceptional balance and timing, and was further noted for his close control of the ball. Unlike the majority of centre-forwards of the day, Smith also excelled at passing. "He was," his obituary in The Times contended, "a maker rather than a scorer of goals and football writer Jonathan Wilson described him as "what we would now term a false nine". Steve Bloomer, Smith's professional colleague in several international matches, remarked that it was for this reason that he would rather play alongside Smith than any other centre-forward. The Dictionary of National Biography contends that he "transformed the role of the centre-forward from that of an individual striker into a unifier of the forward line, indeed the whole team." Physically, Smith seemed unprepossessing. Though standing nearly 5 feet 11 inches, a good height for the day, he was of slight build, suffered from asthma and lacked the obvious brawn that had characterised predecessors in the England team such as W.N. "Nuts" Cobbold in a period