The Wallabies have paid tribute to former Australian rugby and Balmain Tigers star Brian Smith, who has passed away at the age of 59.

Smith, who played Test rugby for both Australia and Ireland before switching to play rugby league in 1991 for Balmain and Easts, died after a battle with cancer.

Smith moved into coaching after his playing career and spent time at leading clubs around the world, but over the last decade, he was a rugby coach and head of sport at Scots College in Sydney’s east.

Scots principal Dr Ian Lambert told the school community Smith “had been very unwell in recent months and battling an aggressive cancer”, according to a report in News Corp publications.

Wallabies prop Angus Bell, who was coached by Smith as a schoolboy, paid tribute on Wednesday.

“He was coaching at Scots school and coached a lot of us coming through the grades and I just wanted to say it’s a really sad time and we’re wishing the best for his wife and kids,” Bell said at a Wallabies press conference.

“You know, he was an avid rugby person and helped a lot of individuals in the squad so just sending my condolences from the Wallabies and both myself.

“He was my coach in GPS, and NSW twos. I was 16 and fair to say that I wouldn’t have played anywhere near as good without him. Me, Jeremy Williams and Will Harris from the Force were really close with him and he was a great bloke, a great father, a great coach.

“Yeah, very sad.”

Born and raised in Queensland, Smith played for the Reds from 1985 to 1987, and debuted for the Wallabies under coach Alan Jones in 1987. He played six Tests for Australia, mostly at the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987.

Smith moved to England to attend Oxford and qualified to play Test rugby for Ireland; he played nine Tests for them between 1989 and 1991.

Smith returned home and switched codes when Jones became coach of the Balmain Tigers in 1991. Jones was a huge fan of Smith and believed him to be a superb footballer.

Smith played 37 games for Balmain, mostly as a five-eighth and halfback, and also played for the City representative side in 1992. He switched to Easts in 1994 and played another six games for the Roosters.

Smith subsequently moved into coaching and built a distinguished career, with head coaching stints at Ricoh in Japan, Bath and London Irish in the English Premiership, and with stints coaching at the Waratahs, the Brumbies and with the Australian sevens side.

In 2008, he was an assistant coach with the England Test team.

After finishing with London Irish, Smith later moved to Scots in 2015 and served as head of rugby, before moving into a broader role as head of sport.

Smith is survived by his wife Lisa, and children Ruby, Santana and Chilli.