Renewal of great weight and caliber in the green-and-whites house. Benetton Rugby has renewed Rhyno Smith’s contract until 30 June 2026.
The South African fullback then extends his stay with the Treviso franchise for another four years, tying himself to the Lions for a long time.
Smith arrived in Treviso in the summer of 2021, immediately demonstrating that he had settled perfectly into the green-and-white reality and quickly became a darling for his fans. A little over a year has passed since his arrival in Treviso and Rhyno Smith has in fact already carved out a very important role for himself in the recent history of Benetton Rugby.
Since the 2021/2022 season Smith in the green-and-white jersey has scored 205 points in 23 total games, the result of 14 goals and many precise placings, as well as spectacular oval actions in hand. The South African born in 1993 immediately integrated properly into the new reality and is making the Treviso fans dream by unleashing his talent. He is a top quality utility back, usually used as a full back but also able to play as a fly-half or as a winger. High basic speed, thick handling and relevant foot technique are the distinctive features of Smith’s rugby background, a talent who scores many points for his team.
He knows the United Rugby Championship very well as he played with the Toyota Cheetahs from the 2018/2019 to 2020/2021 season, collecting 17 appearances and signing 10 tries with the Bloemfontein franchise in PRO14. Furthermore, in South Africa, Rhyno Smith also wore the colors of the Durban Sharks from the 2015/2016 to 2017/2018 season, playing 13 caps and signing 1 try in Super Rugby; he also collected 17 appearances in the Currie Cup. First for him another South African experience at the Leopards where he played from 2014 to 2016. It should also be noted that Rhyno’s impeccable performances in the green-and-white jersey earned him the call of the famous Barbarians selection, with whom he made two appearances; another milestone to add to his rugby curriculum.
Antonio Pavanello, general manager of Benetton Rugby, expressed himself as follows: “Signing Rhyno represents something important for the club. We are talking about a player who in the short term was able to convince the staff and win over our fans by putting in excellent performances. The statistics speak for him, last year he closed the season finishing in third place in the URC classification for points scored (142, ed) and tries scored (10, ed) and fourth in the clean breaks classification (15, ed) with 600 meters gained. Smith has unique qualities in the squad and we are happy to have him with us in the coming years as well.”
“First of all it has been a privilege and an honor to have spent the last 18 months representing this club. The organization in general, the green-and-white shirt and every single fan. I enjoyed every second of it and I hope I repaid the trust placed in me with my performances on the pitch. I am grateful for the opportunity to stay with Benetton Rugby, it was ultimately an easy decision to make and I hope we will gather more memories in the years to come. My family and I are doing incredibly well in Treviso and we can’t wait to know what the future holds. I think the best is yet to come,” comments Rhyno Smith after renewing for another four years.