02-08-2005, 11:17 AM
Springbok coach Jake White is not the only person who retained faith in John Smit as the best player to captain South Africa and the man to lead the Boks out against New Zealand in the Tri-Nations Test at Newlands on Saturday.
White's choice of skipper is backed by Morné du Plessis, the last man to captain South Africa to a series win over the British Lions in 1980 and who just happens to be the most successful Springbok skipper of all time with an 86 percent winning ratio in Test matches.
Smit's value to South Africa's cause was emphasised in the Springbok dressing room at Loftus after South Africa's 22-16 win over Australia on Saturday. Officially flyhalf André Pretorius was named man-of-the-match, but the Springbok hierarchy begged to differ.
For the second week in succession Smit led from the front to record back to back victories over Australia and without hesitation he got the unanimous choice of the Bok players and coaches as their man-of-the-match.
Smit led from the front
Vindication for White, who stuck by his captain even after stirrings from up north after the Sharks' poor Super 12 campaign that had called not only for Smit to be removed as captain, but dropped as first-choice hooker.
Those voices, quick to forget the leadership qualities Smit had exhibited in steering the Boks to only their second Tri-Nations triumph in nine years last August, have been silenced by a Test record that speaks for itself.
If South Africa can maintain an unbeaten run of home wins - now standing at 10 Tests - on Saturday, they will break a 22-year-old mark and White's record as coach will stretch to 14 wins in 20 tests with one draw - a 76 percent winning record that leaves him adrift of only the late Kitch Christie, the World Cup winning coach whose 100 percent record from 14 Tests will probably never be beaten.
Smit, however, set to play his 46th Test on Saturday will record his 15th Test victory as captain if South Africa beat New Zealand. This would give him a 77 percent winning return in his 20th test as skipper - closing the gap on second placed Joost van der Westhuizen, who retired with eight wins in 10 Tests as captain.
Du Plessis, probably the most respected man ever to captain the Springboks, said: "I thought he was excellent last week (against Australia).
'He has my full backing and I think people should get off his back'
"I met John at a young age as I had a nephew at Pretoria Boys High who knew him and from the start he was an exceptional boy with fine leadership qualities. This year I was very fortunate to get to know him at the Tsunami match (Du Plessis managed the South team in the charity match against the North side) featuring three dynamic captains two of whom (New Zealand captain Tana Umaga and Australia skipper George Gregan) were quite senior to him.
"Gregan was made captain of the side due to his seniority, but it was revealing to see the huge respect senior players in the side had for John. He deals with leadership naturally and right now he is taking the side with Jake to where they deserve to be.
"He has my full backing and I think people should get off his back and let him take the side forward. Things could have gone wrong on Saturday at Loftus, but he steadied the ship and it has been great seeing his game improve and reaching a level where people will be forced to forget the criticism."
White said the last two Test wins against Australia had vindicated his faith in Smit.
"He has almost an 80 percent win ratio as a captain and he can play hooker or prop on both sides of the scrum. His value to the front row is immense and he has just come off two great Test matches and is getting better as he matures.
"But most important was the way he captained the side over the weekend. His half-time talk was right on the button when we were 13-6 down. The players needed to hear something special to lift them and he said it.
"We've got five athletes in our pack in Victor (Matfield), Albert (van den Berg), Joe (van Niekerk), Juan (Smith) and Jacques (Cronjé) and you need someone like John to do the basics so they can run around. He might not be flashy and stand out on the wing like others, but he does his job and thus allows others to shine.
"(Former Bok coach) Nick Mallett said even if John was not good enough as a player he would make him captain. Captaining South Africa is a tough task because you have such diversity in religion, culture and creed in a team of black, white, English and Afrikaans from north and south. It takes someone special to mould that all together," said White.
Smit has already moved on from Loftus to focus on Saturday's test, one he regards as the most critical of his 18-month term as skipper.
"We said the (first) Test against Ireland last year would be critical to putting us on the right track and again when we played New Zealand at Ellis Park. This game will also be one of those tests that is critical to putting us on a new level."
During the break at Loftus Smit told his players that they did not want to suffer the ignominy of becoming the first Springbok side to lose a test to Australia in Pretoria and that the Wallabies would come out firing in the second half.
"I am fortunate to have a whole bunch of guys I can rely on who communicate the same things. We were on the same wavelength in the second half when we knew we had to drive from the lineouts and buy time to close out the win."
Smit said good advice had helped him to cope with criticism: "Captains who went before me, guys like André (Vos), Bob (Skinstad), Gary (Teichmann) and Corné (Krige) told me you can never please everyone as Springbok captain, so it was best not to react to criticism and get bogged down.
"I have managed to fall back on the confidence Jake shows in me as captain and in the team. I do not try too hard to be a captain, but I do rely on the players to back me up and the support I get makes my life easier," said the Bok skipper.
Winning percentage of Springbok captains (10 or more tests as captain)
Played Won Drawn Lost Win percentage
Morné du Plessis 15 13 0 2 86.6%
Joost van der Westhuizen 10 8 0 2 80%
John Smit 19 14 1 4 76%
Gary Teichmann 36 26 0 10 72%
François Pienaar 29 19 2 8 65.2%
Dawie de Villiers 22 13 4 5 59%
André Vos 16 9 0 7 56%
Hannes Marais 11 6 2 3 54%
Avril Malan 10 5 2 3 50%
Bob Skinstad 10 5 1 4 50%
Corné Krige 18 7 0 11 38.8%
White's choice of skipper is backed by Morné du Plessis, the last man to captain South Africa to a series win over the British Lions in 1980 and who just happens to be the most successful Springbok skipper of all time with an 86 percent winning ratio in Test matches.
Smit's value to South Africa's cause was emphasised in the Springbok dressing room at Loftus after South Africa's 22-16 win over Australia on Saturday. Officially flyhalf André Pretorius was named man-of-the-match, but the Springbok hierarchy begged to differ.
For the second week in succession Smit led from the front to record back to back victories over Australia and without hesitation he got the unanimous choice of the Bok players and coaches as their man-of-the-match.
Smit led from the front
Vindication for White, who stuck by his captain even after stirrings from up north after the Sharks' poor Super 12 campaign that had called not only for Smit to be removed as captain, but dropped as first-choice hooker.
Those voices, quick to forget the leadership qualities Smit had exhibited in steering the Boks to only their second Tri-Nations triumph in nine years last August, have been silenced by a Test record that speaks for itself.
If South Africa can maintain an unbeaten run of home wins - now standing at 10 Tests - on Saturday, they will break a 22-year-old mark and White's record as coach will stretch to 14 wins in 20 tests with one draw - a 76 percent winning record that leaves him adrift of only the late Kitch Christie, the World Cup winning coach whose 100 percent record from 14 Tests will probably never be beaten.
Smit, however, set to play his 46th Test on Saturday will record his 15th Test victory as captain if South Africa beat New Zealand. This would give him a 77 percent winning return in his 20th test as skipper - closing the gap on second placed Joost van der Westhuizen, who retired with eight wins in 10 Tests as captain.
Du Plessis, probably the most respected man ever to captain the Springboks, said: "I thought he was excellent last week (against Australia).
'He has my full backing and I think people should get off his back'
"I met John at a young age as I had a nephew at Pretoria Boys High who knew him and from the start he was an exceptional boy with fine leadership qualities. This year I was very fortunate to get to know him at the Tsunami match (Du Plessis managed the South team in the charity match against the North side) featuring three dynamic captains two of whom (New Zealand captain Tana Umaga and Australia skipper George Gregan) were quite senior to him.
"Gregan was made captain of the side due to his seniority, but it was revealing to see the huge respect senior players in the side had for John. He deals with leadership naturally and right now he is taking the side with Jake to where they deserve to be.
"He has my full backing and I think people should get off his back and let him take the side forward. Things could have gone wrong on Saturday at Loftus, but he steadied the ship and it has been great seeing his game improve and reaching a level where people will be forced to forget the criticism."
White said the last two Test wins against Australia had vindicated his faith in Smit.
"He has almost an 80 percent win ratio as a captain and he can play hooker or prop on both sides of the scrum. His value to the front row is immense and he has just come off two great Test matches and is getting better as he matures.
"But most important was the way he captained the side over the weekend. His half-time talk was right on the button when we were 13-6 down. The players needed to hear something special to lift them and he said it.
"We've got five athletes in our pack in Victor (Matfield), Albert (van den Berg), Joe (van Niekerk), Juan (Smith) and Jacques (Cronjé) and you need someone like John to do the basics so they can run around. He might not be flashy and stand out on the wing like others, but he does his job and thus allows others to shine.
"(Former Bok coach) Nick Mallett said even if John was not good enough as a player he would make him captain. Captaining South Africa is a tough task because you have such diversity in religion, culture and creed in a team of black, white, English and Afrikaans from north and south. It takes someone special to mould that all together," said White.
Smit has already moved on from Loftus to focus on Saturday's test, one he regards as the most critical of his 18-month term as skipper.
"We said the (first) Test against Ireland last year would be critical to putting us on the right track and again when we played New Zealand at Ellis Park. This game will also be one of those tests that is critical to putting us on a new level."
During the break at Loftus Smit told his players that they did not want to suffer the ignominy of becoming the first Springbok side to lose a test to Australia in Pretoria and that the Wallabies would come out firing in the second half.
"I am fortunate to have a whole bunch of guys I can rely on who communicate the same things. We were on the same wavelength in the second half when we knew we had to drive from the lineouts and buy time to close out the win."
Smit said good advice had helped him to cope with criticism: "Captains who went before me, guys like André (Vos), Bob (Skinstad), Gary (Teichmann) and Corné (Krige) told me you can never please everyone as Springbok captain, so it was best not to react to criticism and get bogged down.
"I have managed to fall back on the confidence Jake shows in me as captain and in the team. I do not try too hard to be a captain, but I do rely on the players to back me up and the support I get makes my life easier," said the Bok skipper.
Winning percentage of Springbok captains (10 or more tests as captain)
Played Won Drawn Lost Win percentage
Morné du Plessis 15 13 0 2 86.6%
Joost van der Westhuizen 10 8 0 2 80%
John Smit 19 14 1 4 76%
Gary Teichmann 36 26 0 10 72%
François Pienaar 29 19 2 8 65.2%
Dawie de Villiers 22 13 4 5 59%
André Vos 16 9 0 7 56%
Hannes Marais 11 6 2 3 54%
Avril Malan 10 5 2 3 50%
Bob Skinstad 10 5 1 4 50%
Corné Krige 18 7 0 11 38.8%