Currently also a world champion, having won the triples as skip of the South African rink before "defecting" to Scotland four years ago, the Linlithgow player is also the wife of the World Bowls chief executive and Scotland internationalist Gary, while yesterday's opponent, Janice Grant, is a director of Bowls Scotland.
Grant, from Kirkintilloch, having knocked out Elizabeth Cameron, Smith's international team-mate, in the opening round, expected a tough battle and so it initially proved, the pair tying at 10-all before the favourite made the decisive break, reaching the last eight with a 21-13 win.
Her opponent being a member of the Bowls Scotland board added spice to the fact that Smith was recently left out of the Scotland squad for the World Championships in Australia later this year, a decision seen as controversial in some quarters. However, she said she was not at Northfield with any sort of point to prove.
"Not at all, because they can't change that," she said, referring to the selectors' decision. "I am, of course, very, very disappointed and I still don't know what I did wrong so that's all I can say. I'm going to do my best but I don't feel there's any pressure on me, though. I've played too much bowls around the world for that."
Elaborating on that, she said she felt David Gourlay, Scotland's head coach, could have made more effort to explain the reasons behind her omission from the squad. "I'm not blaming David. I wish him well. I just felt he should talk to me," he said.
Gourlay, who is also a dual international having spent several seasons playing in and for Australia, has drawn considerable praise from leading players for the way he has handled matters in this his first year in charge and denied any suggestion of a communication breakdown on his part. "All players are offered the opportunity to discuss selection or non-selection and it is my philosophy to offer an open-door policy," he said.
Smith was among five members of the current Scotland squad to reach the quarter-finals along with Seona Black, Lynn Stein, Angela Uttley and, demonstrating emphatically that she knows what she is writing about, The Herald's regular bowls correspondent Anne Dunwoodie.
Meanwhile, although every player here has had to show extraordinary commitment to get through 10 rounds at their clubs and districts, one competitor has taken that to a new level. Donna Bernard, lead in the Strathmiglo pair, played while heavily pregnant then when recovering from giving birth to third child Kayla – born just 10 days before the championships began.
She and playing partner Lorraine Gordon got through the first round, but the pain of the defeat suffered at the hands of Banchory's Christine Donaldson and Margaret Durward was far from the worst Bernard has suffered recently. "I'm disappointed but I'll be glad to get home to see Kayla," she said.
