- Date of Birth19 / 08 / 1876
- Died05 / 11 / 1957
- Lions Tours1899
- International CapsLions
- Lions Origin SchoolsDulwich College
- Lions Origin ClubsSunderland, Guys Hospital, Surrey
A forward who played club rugby for Guy's Hospital, Alan Ayre-Smith played 17 of the 20 Tour matches and represented The British & Irish Lions in all four 1899 Tests against Australia.
After playing in the first Test, which The Lions lost in Sydney, the hard-hitting forward played six of the seven invitational games ahead of the second – bouncing back from being dropped against Queensland with his first try of the Tour in the encounter with Rockhampton.
Ayre-Smith was not only part of the winning team in the second Test, but also scored his only international try during the game, before also starting the final two Tests of the Tour.
In 1900, as part of the British efforts during the Boer War, he travelled to South Africa and worked as a dresser in the Imperial Yeomanry.