An Article from Gavin Rich as seen on superrugby.co.za

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers and South African fans were not the only people on Tuesday doffing their caps in appreciation of John Smit — so were the All Blacks.

Smit was selected for his record-breaking 60th cap as an international captain — he has played 85 games for the Boks in all — and although the Bok skipper tried to play it down, the coach’s of both his own team and his immediate opponents were quite happy to make a big deal about it.

“We have huge respect for John Smit and from an All Black side I would like to acknowledge what a massive achievement it is to play 60 matches as your country’s captain,” said All Black coach Graham Henry.

“John has been a very successful captain for South Africa. We all know about what he did in leading the team to a World Cup victory in 2007, something we in New Zealand are still aggrieved about,” he laughed.

“On top of all of that, he is a really good bloke, a real top man, and I can completely understand why the Springbok players follow him like they do. I would like to congratulate him on his achievement on behalf of the All Black camp.”

De Villiers pointed to the same attributes that saw Jake White annoint Smit as the team leader not long after he took over the Bok squad in early 2004.

“When you ask the question about what qualities he has you should really be asking what qualities he does not have, for he has so many,” said De Villiers.

“He plays such a massive role for us, and above all I think it is something that you don’t see a lot of, he is a real ambassador for his country, and a guy who makes everyone feel at home. Breaking this record could not have happened to a nicer person, John is a real legend.”

Smit said that he would prefer to talk about the achievement after Saturday.

“I haven’t broken any records until I run out of the tunnel in front of the team at Absa Stadium on Saturday,” he said.

“But yes, it has been a huge honour and privilege to be involved with the Boks, and I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of it all. We have the task of beating the All Blacks on Saturday though and that is what we are focusing on.”

Smit said his men were expecting the All Blacks to be a much tougher proposition than they were last week, when the Boks won 28-19 in Bloemfontein.

“As hard as last week’s game was, we have always believed that this one will be a lot tougher,” he said.

“They do not have to contend this time with the debilitating aspects of their short turnaround between Auckland and Bloemfontein. They have had two extra days to prepare this week and that means they will be much better prepared, and they have also had a better chance to analyse us and more time to work out what they need to do.”