Springbok captain John Smit has been hailed as "colossal" for the role he has played in South Africa's year-end tour, which included a record 42-6 victory over England at Twickenham at the weekend.

Players and management alike have been full of praise for the record-breaking Bok captain — who became the first player to lead his team on an unbeaten northern hemisphere year-end trip since Gary Teichmann did it in 1997.

Smit, who has captained the Boks in 55 of his 81 Tests, was also praised for his role in South Africa's World Cup triumph in France last year.

However, it was after the team's win over the Martin Johnson-coached team — England's biggest defeat at Twickenham ever — that the plaudits for Smit really started pouring in.

Smit’s contribution colossal

Springbok manager Arthob Petersen hailed the team's end-of-year tour as a "great success" after they arrived back in South Africa on Monday morning.

However, his biggest accolades were directed at Smit.

"Our victories over Wales (20-15), Scotland (14-10) and England are significant for various reasons," Petersen said.

"We have extended our winning sequences respectively against Wales to 10, against Scotland to 10 and against England to six.

"But these are the statistics," he said, adding: "The real success of the tour is measured in what we have achieved as a team and the progress we have made over the past few weeks.

"Firstly, the tour again confirmed the leadership qualities of our captain John Smit. "John's contribution was nothing short of colossal and he was ably supported by the senior players around him."

Players praise Smit

A number of players also spoke of Smit's leadership and all pointed to his team talk before the game as the defining factor in the Boks massive win at Twickenham.

"If you had been in our change room before kick-off, you would have known that something special was about to happen," revitalised centre Adrian Jacobs said.

Jacobs, who scored one of the Boks' five tries, has been one of the success stories of the year — after being recalled by coach Peter de Villiers.

"John Smit asked for 10 minutes alone with the starting XV, no management, nobody but the team. He gave the best address I have ever heard," Jacobs said.

"He spoke to each individual, from one to 15, reminding them of their strengths and past achievements, and what he expected from that person in his position against England," said Jacobs, who has now exorcised the demons of Twickenham that he says had haunted him since he played in the disastrous 3-53 loss in 2002.

"It was an amazing talk — very powerful stuff. He got into the minds of each player because he knows so well the unique make-up of each guy and what buttons are the best to push.

"An example was Ricky Januarie. Amongst other things he talked him through his try in Dunedin, how he had delivered when his country had needed him and what it had meant to so many South Africans. He then pumped up Bryan Habana by listing his achievements, then telling him what the critics have been saying, and then finishing by requesting that he score two tries.

"He said to Bakkies (Botha): 'You have the power within you to dictate the direction this team goes in today. Your strength and aggression epitomises the Springboks. If you decide to take England apart, the rest of the team will follow.'

"To Schalk Burger he said: 'Just be Schalk. Play as you always do'.

"He told Jannie du Plessis: 'You were supposed to be here in the first place, but are getting your opportunity now'.”

Boks boasting depth

The Springbok manager, Petersen, also spoke of other benefits the tour brought.

"It (the tour) showed the wealth of depth that we have in our squad. When we were affected by injuries during the last week of the tour, we had players of quality to fill the gaps left by injured players — and these guys performed exceptionally — notably Ricky Januarie.

"The depth was also evident in the impact made by players coming off the bench. This is borne out in part by Jaque Fourie's spectacular tries against Scotland and England and the contributions made by Brian Mujati, Andries Bekker, Gürthro Steenkamp, Ryan Kankowski and Francois Steyn.

"We also welcomed a new member into the Springbok family with Heinrich Brüssow making his debut against England.

"Whilst injuries prevented us from gathering a true measure of the success of John Smit's switch to tighthead prop, when he did play there he stood his ground and looked very comfortable.

"The tour has given us a comprehensive insight into some of the players who will be part of the British and Irish Lions tour squad in 2009.

"The wins, and particularly the way we ended against England, I believe, will have given us a psychological boost for the Lions tour.

"We have a lot of work to do between now and then but I am convinced that we are on the right track and that if we can consistently produce performances such as those over Australia and England this year, we will be able to secure a series win next year."

  • Is Smit the Bok’s greatest captain ever? Leave a comment below!

    365

    RSS
    Digg
    de.li.cious
    facebook


    Print this page
    Send this article to a friend