Bruno Smith
3rd Year, Chemistry, Edinburgh

Bruno Smith talks about his experience of being on the losing and winning side of Varsity

Juggling Sports

“I began playing rugby when I was 5 years old, my father took me down to my local rugby club to get involved in mini’s tag. I then got involved with school rugby and from there my interest in the sport really accelerated and I ended up playing for the Newcastle falcons from 15-18 years old.

My real interest in sports in general began when watching the 2003 world cup final at home with my brother and dad, seeing England win it just ignited my interest in rugby. It helped me that my older sisters and parents are all keen on various sports so from a young age I was exposed to different sports and encouraged to take part in as many as I possibly could juggle.

In my younger years I was also very keen on gymnastics and football as well as rugby but at the age of 13 I had to choose which sport out the three I wished to prioritize. At that age rugby was arguably not my strongest sport however I chose to make it my priority as I enjoyed playing it the most and the fact I could play it all the time with my friends was so appealing to me.

As far as my rugby ambitions are concerned I used to strive to be a professional during school, building my game on the likes of Danny Care and Will Genia, but now I just enjoy playing a good standard of uni rugby with my friends and remaining competitive.”

An amazing experience

“Winning varsity this year again would be an amazing start to the rugby season, which promises to be a long, gruelling one. Winning varsity last year was up there for me as one of my favourite rugby moments of my life as being able to break the 5 year drought emphatically with such a big crowd was amazing especially after the disappointment of playing in the match the year before.”