Springboks captain John Smit to lead Sharks in Super 15
Springbok’s 50th captain John Smit will be fighting for fitness by the time Super 15 tournament initiates. Sale Sharks coach John Plumtree has condemned recent criticism of South African skipper and has made him the captain for his team.
According to the coach, John Smit would have shed 7 to 8 kilos of weight by the time Super 15 season kicks off. Former coach of Sharks Jake White made headlines this January by suggesting Smit should give up and retire, but Jon Plumtree thinks otherwise.
He believes that Smit is still the perfect man to lead Sale Sharks into this tournament.
Smit has missed South Africa’s last year tour after being admitted for neck surgery and was extensively accused of being unusually over weight during South Africa’s catastrophic Tri-Nations. The coach ensured that Smit will be perfect and fit to play again
when he returns from his injury.
He said, “John Smit is looking really good, he's got about two kilograms to go before being back to his best condition.” Condemning the boastful critics he said, “In New Zealand we call it 'tall poppy syndrome', which is basically when the public gangs up
on an achiever and tries to cut him down.”
John William Smit is a South African National rugby union skipper who plays as a hooker and a prop is now a captain for Sale Sharks too. He has mostly played as a hooker throughout his career. He played his first game for Springbok in 2000 when he was only
22 years old, against Canada and won 51-18.
Until 2007, Smit played a record 46 matches for his national team. He was made the captain in 2004 and became a regular starting 15 member. He suffered through an injury in 2007 from which he recovered in time to join World Cup team squad. He is the most
successful Springbok captain with 72% of wins due to 46 victories out of 64 matches. He has won more tests then any South African has ever played and he is the 15th player in the world to complete the milestone of 100 test matches.
With upcoming fresh, and a very long Super Rugby season set to start in February, Plumtree believes that Smit’s hard work will pay off and he will be in top form before this massive season. He said, “He's worked really hard because he has a huge year in
2011. By the time the tri-series starts, he would have lost about seven or eight kilograms - that's after having had a neck op last year.”
After a substandard Super Rugby tournament in 2010, the 2007 Super Rugby finalists are ready to regain their winning reputation in the Currie Cup 2011. Sale Sharks have welcomed three other players in the team. Jacques Louis Potgieter, Conard Hoffman and
Meyer Bosman will be playing from the bench in the first few matches, while a handful of players have departed the Sharks squad.
Sharks has 17 Springbok’s players and others who have at least 40 Super Rugby caps, with such a blend of players Sale Sharks can surely look forward to successful season. Plumtree said there is a lot of anticipation on us after what happened in previous
Currie Cup and it is all about gathering a team that can pull off good results and bring home victory. He stressed on the fact that critics talk cheap and devalue the honor of legendary players and the game. He said, “You can blow on about how good you think
you are, but the players understand what this competition is all about and the majority of them have six or seven campaigns behind them.”
This will be John Smit’s last year as a professional Rugby Player. He declared that he will retire after his visit to New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. And till then he would be giving his best in the sport that he is reckoned to be the most experienced
player of. He has been selected as a captain among the players like Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira, Jannie du Plessis and Bismarck du Plessis. Plumtree thinks he has made a right decision for his team. He said, “He is the only player in world rugby who can do that
and I will have no hesitation in switching him between the three because I know that he will be fit enough to play any of them.”
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