Sharks coach John Plumtree was all but impressed about the continuous bad publicity of Springbok Captain John Smit, and that he should retire from the game coming from no other then the former national coach Jake White.
In the words of John Plumtree, Public were ganging up on the Bok Captain and were trying to cut him down after all that he has achieved and done for his country. “Plumtree said it annoys him to no end to see a player of this statue so well respected by his international peers, yet so badly disrespected by his own countrymen,” Smit who has 102 caps and is on the all time great Springbok list and is only second to team-mate Victor Matfield(104).
Smit however declined to comment on the views of his former coach Jake White and at this stage of his illustrious career had nothing to prove. Players of this quality know when it’s time to hang up their boots, and John is one of those players said Plumtree of a player he was fortunate to coach, I have coached some of the best players in the world in Tana Omaga(former All Black Captain) and Scott Gibbs (welsh great) that I can mention in the same breath as Smit.
Plumtree said that Smit was still showing in training that he had the desire to play at the highest level. “He wants to be the first ever captain to defend the World Cup title, what bigger motivation could there be for him, for goodness sake?” Plumtree exclaimed. The coach announced that Smit would be his captain for the Super 15 competition.
In 2009, Plumtree decided to take the pressure off Smit by selecting Johann Muller as Captain After the momentous British and Irish Lions tour but this year he is going for gold. “This is John’s last season in rugby (he will retire after the World Cup). He has proved that the captaincy role suits him. He is a bloody good leader – he has the respect of other captains and referees the world over.”
The Sharks’ Currie Cup leader, Stefan Terblanche, will be Smit’s deputy.
Plumtree said that the Springbok coaching staff would no doubt closely watch what he did with Smit and the rest of the Springbok front row during the Super 15. The Bok front row is currently the Sharks unit of Beast Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis and Jannie du Plessis, with Smit to return after missing the Currie Cup and the November tour to the UK and Ireland due to neck surgery.
“Where will we play John? Hooker, tighthead or loosehead? We will play him in all three. 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,” Plumtree said. Last year Smit was heavily criticized for being overweight and out of shape, But Plumtree felt it is time to set that record straight. “At the end of 2009 the Boks moved John from the relatively mobile position of hooker to the constraints of tighthead prop and he was given the poor advice that he had to put on weight to anchor the scrum effectively. That advice did not come from us, I can assure you.”
The new hooker, Du Plessis, then suffered a horrific hamstring tear and Smit moved back to hooker, only to attract subsequent criticism that he was off the pace because he was too heavy. The weight issue, though is no longer a problem.
Mark Steele, the current Sharks and former Springbok conditioning coach, says: “Smitty is working unbelievably hard to reach his prime fighting weight. “I can honestly predict that this is going to be a great year for Smitty.”
As for other news is that the Sharks are all off to the North-West Province for a week as they finalise their preparation and plans for the coming season, News also is that Smit has a light hamstring strain and will be out of action for a week or two, but may still be fit for the up and coming Neo Africa Tri-series to be played in Cape Town in early February.
A youngster Sabelo Nhlapo has been called up from the Vodacom Cup training squad to take Smit’s place on the camp. The team flies to Johannesburg from Durban this afternoon, from where they will travel by bus to the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus, where their week-long training camp will take place.
Maybe Springbok coaching staff should look at themselves and their systems, making players get over weight, is not always the right way
asswhipes
dagse loskoppietjie , cheetah4never, en super outjoppie.. 😆
@ sharkeyfornever lol
Jip, unfortunately that is true, it was at their behest that cappie put on weight, and in the eyes of the supporters he was “sluggish”
Interesting times ahead, because a fit John Smit at hooker is not an easy comparison too Bissy, both brilliant players in the position
@ Cheetah4eva: hiyas cheetah boet , hope all well on your side?
Yeah interesting in deed, does not say much for our bok coaching staff does it??
As for smitty i have no doubt he will be at his best again , with all the games to be played in super rugby and world cup a lot of the top players have to be rotated to get rest and not be over played so i dont see issues
I said this at the time and still cannot believe that anybody in the Bok camp is that stupid to believe that you had to get Smit to put on weight to play tight head!!
It says everything to me about the complete lack of knowledge about the front row from the coaches.
What he needed to play tight head was technique and experience and not weight.
I still wonder why Smit went ahead with this stupid idea!!
@ tight head:
TH its simple really
Smitty being the humble man he is listen to his coaching staff and medical staff and that is what they are meant to be qualified in
that shows you he stil looks upto his peers and shows respect ,He is not the know it all type , and his way is the only way
Here is an update on the Beast saga too , surely Manie Reynecke and Kevin De Klerk must now stop thei immature crying and move on ?? yes thewir pride was hurt , yes they lost out to the Sharks again
Is it not time to admit defeat and work on whats truely wrong at your union ????????????
Beast spurns Lions’ big bucks for Shark tank ZoomBookmarkSharePrintListenTranslateONE OF the major talking points in the off-season has been the Lions’ pursuit of Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, but the popular prop says he is happy at the Sharks and is looking forward to a big season with the coastal side.
For months the Lions have been looking to lure Mtawarira to Joburg, making a lucrative offer to try and secure his services with the backing of their new investors.
But from the outset, the Sharks maintained that Mtawarira had agreed to a new threeyear contract – and recently lodged a complaint with the SA Rugby Union based on their assertion that the Lions were negotiating with a contracted player.
Nevertheless, the big-spending Lions have insisted that their offer is a valid one. Last week CEO Manie Reyneke reiterated that it was still up to Mtawarira to choose where he would like to play.
However, it will now come as a major relief to Sharks fans to hear that the affable front rower has confirmed he is committed to the Sharks.
“I’m really looking forward to the Super 15 with the Sharks,” he said.’
“I really can’t wait for it to kick off. I’m really happy that the whole contractual matter has been resolved and I’m really glad to be with the Sharks.”
Mtawarira’s salary bracket has been pushed up at the Sharks and coach John Plumtree has gone on record saying that he rates the 25-year-old as one of the best loosehead props in world rugby.
Indeed, the Zimbabwean-born Springbok star is likely to be a key figure at the World Cup later this year, but he said he was solely focused on the Super 15 at the moment.
“It’s a case of first things first and my focus is just on the Super 15. It was an up-and-down year last year but I’m looking to carry on from where things finished off and I’m really just hoping it’s going to be a big season for me and the team.”
With a long provincial and international season lying ahead for the Sharks’ Springbok frontrowers, rest and rotation is going to be vitally important, and Mtawarira is likely to share game-time with John Smit at loosehead prop.
“It’s definitely an advantage to have the depth that we do in the front row,” Mtawarira said.
“It’s going to be a long season but it’s really nice to have that depth, and the boys have been working really hard in the preseason.”
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Smit will captain the Sharks during the Super 15, with Currie Cup-winning skipper Stefan Terblanche taking on the vice-captaincy role.
Smit, in fact, picked up a slight hamstring strain during training last week, but is expected to be available for the Sharks’ two warm-up games against the Lions and Stormers early next month in Cape Town.
The Sharks squad will spend this week at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus as part of a preseason training camp in which they will add some of the final touches to their preparations.
damn where is everyone
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