Smitten by Smit

The Springbok captain is loved and respected - and not just for his playing ability

Two elderly ladies climb the spiral staircase pausing briefly to ask whether the man they have just seen striding across the lobby is the South African rugby captain John Smit. On hearing that it is, one matron sighs: ‘He’s a great man. Give him our love and tell him we’ll be rooting for the ‘Boks when they beat the Lions.’

Smit is used to the approbation and it extends beyond the fact that he captained the Springboks to their 2007 World Cup success. It’s as much about the man; personable, articulate, thoughtful and self deprecating with a latent pride in the country.

A snapshot of his popularity and the respect he commands may be gleaned from delving deeper into the bald statistic that the 31 year old has led his country on 55 occasions. Smit was handed the captaincy in 2004 by the then Springbok coach Jake White and two men forged a close bond.

White stepped down following South Africa’s World Cup success in France while Smit chose a fresh challenge in plumping for Clermont Auvergne over Toulouse on a two-year playing sabbatical to the northern hemisphere.

His reasons were practical. “It would be difficult for another coach to put his faith in me with the kind of relationship that Jake and I had. I decided to spend a year and a half away. If we (South Africa) won it would be good because I would be out of the line-up and if we lost I would be (considered to be) running away,” the last sentiment expressed against a soundtrack of laughter.

Even though Smit thoroughly enjoyed his French sojourn he opted to return early to the Sharks franchise. White’s successor as national coach Peter de Villiers promptly restored the player to the Springbok squad and the captaincy, reinforcing the supposition that Smit represents the public face of modern South African rugby.

Guiding his country to Tri-Nations and World Cup tournament victories during his tenure his next ambition is a series success over the Lions. “Rugby is a massive part of our lifestyle and in terms of what is means being a South African. It runs through everyone’s veins here.

There is a huge amount of passion that goes into watching it, playing, training for it.

“The importance of a Lions tour for every SANZAR nation is that it remains one of the last bastions of old school tradition in terms of touring. I believe that rugby union has done well, one of the last sports, to hang onto its roots, its heritage. It has changed with the times, become a professional sport late in its life but it has stayed true to its morals.

“You and I can go hammer and tongs and give each other a bit of how’s your father, argy bargy for 80 minutes and yet we will come in and have a beer afterwards, get to know each other and make sure we go harder the next time. That is special and something that we need to keep special. What is special is that the Lions tour only every four years and you only get to play them once every 12 years if you are a South African.

“You can be the best Springbok the world has ever seen and yet go through your entire career without ever having an opportunity to play against the Lions. I have seen it with the guys who are on the fringes, the guys who are chasing the green and gold jersey; everyone has put in so much more this year because of the chance to getting into that first (South African) squad of 30 with the possibility of facing the Lions.

“Years come and go, games come and go, Tri-Nations come and go and I suppose to a degree so do World Cups – they’re there every four years – but this is a one off opportunity. A player in the home unions gets a chance to be selected for the Lions every four years. The guys who are eligible to wear the British Lions jersey have a better chance of playing in a series than any of us.

“There’s pressure with every test you play which is part and parcel of what we do but we have a group of guys at the moment who really understand just how privileged we are to be at the right place at the right time and with that comes expectation.”

It’s a desire whose genesis dates back to before their most recent World Cup triumph. Smit elaborated: “The Lions series was in the back of our minds before we even played in the World Cup. The World Cup was a focal point for four years from the time we started with Jake in 2004. I would be lying to you if I said we were thinking of winning the World Cup or had real belief in 2004 or 2005; we had a good team and won a Tri Nations (2004) and just missed out in 2005.

“The real belief came in late 2005 and 2006 when we had our worst year. We were up against the wall, losing six in a row and the pressure was on. We knew that our big guns were injured and surviving that and going through that horrible period of taking the heat in interviews after games and giving the same excuses six times in a row, that pain taught us a real lesson as a team. We managed to get through that as players and coaches and we decided to make 2007 count.”

Smit, along with fellow Springbok players and coaching staff, has monitored closely this season’s Six Nations Championship and feels that there are no controversial omissions or choices in Ian McGeechan’s Lions’ squad. He feels the Scot has addressed the mistakes of 2005 in New Zealand in selecting a smaller squad but makes an interesting observation about assessing the Lions.

“It is always difficult to judge and anticipate what kind of a Lions team will run out that particular Saturday afternoon (first test) in Durban. You try and make an assessment from an individual point of view. Take Gethin Jenkins (Smit is likely to play tighthead prop rather than hooker) who I watched play recently. Often you’ll put a player like that into a team and it brings out even more; it makes him twice the player.

“Sometimes you put a guy into a team and you’re half disappointed that he doesn’t play better. It’s all about atmosphere and environment. In my opinion all the analysis we do will be hit and miss. If the (Lions) coach can get the environment right and get his boys to rise as a team it’s going to be hard to assess just what they are capable of. The calibre of player is not wanting; it is just how much they get out of them in that environment.”

Smit is looking forward to confronting his Lions counterpart Paul O’Connell, a player for whom he has a great deal of respect. “He’s a very good bloke, a very good rugby player. You can see the kind of rapport he has with players from club level and international level. “He’s very mature because he captains provincially and is captained by Brian O’Driscoll on the weekend and it doesn’t disrupt his game at all; doesn’t affect how he plays or motivates around him. He looks like the kind of guy who is not desperate to be a captain but is happy to do the role. He is pretty easy to follow because he is normally on the front foot, leading by example.”

So you’re an advocate of a forward as captain? Smit smiles: “I’m old school. I am a big fan of having a captain amongst the forwards. It’s the old clichés about (winning) starting in the tight five and finishing in the tight five. The platform gets built there.

“As much as the game has changed and modernised, at the end of the day if you have a good scrum and lineout, a good pack of forwards who aren’t scared to roll their sleeves up you normally get a good result. The coach has seen it as being an important part of coming to South Africa and being successful in terms of how he fares up front. It’s a calculated decision. The wonderful thing is that you still have Brian O’Driscoll in the squad. He is going to be a valuable asset to O’Connell because he has a guy who can take complete control outside. Whether Brian got it or Paul got it, if they work closely together and are mature leaders, it will only help the Lions.”

Smit appreciates the work that Lions coach McGeechan has done in trying to put together a manageable fixture schedule and suggests that the canny Scot did well to guarantee that the first test will be played at sea level before going to the high veldts for the last two. “It’ll (Durban) be crucial. If you had asked me to pick the venue it wouldn’t have been Durban (he lists a couple of more intimidating outposts) somewhere ugly with barbed wire around the edges; no air to speak of. It is a must win target for the Lions. They will see it as a prime opportunity to get on the front foot; something that the Springboks will be saying as well. It’s about gaining momentum, the upper hand.

“Going to altitude represents a significant change. They play in Durban and on the Sunday go to the high veldt. That’s exactly how we approach it because when we play as the Springboks we have a lot of players from the Sharks who are coastal players.

“He (McGeechan) has done well to give his team the opportunity to adjust to the altitude as much as possible. It is the same for both teams. I will have as much time to acclimatise to playing in Ellis Park as Paul O’Connell will. We arrive in Jo’burg at the same time.”

Smit was a 19 year old fledgling professional rugby player when he sat on the bench against the 1997 Lions vintage, a wide eyed innocent who didn’t concern himself unduly with the results. This time it’s different. It’s not about playing, it’s about winning. Nowhere more than South Africa is the rich history of the Lions devoured and revered. The ‘Boks are well versed with big game hunting and the Lion still represent trophy sport at its most appealing.