Conrad Smith

And I think he'll be devastating for Ireland.

And he reminds me a lot of Conrad Smith.

And he was just starting to come into his own before he left New Zealand.

A guy I'd love to get back is the guy Alex Nankerville in terms of midfield at centre.

...

Daniel Carter and Conrad Smith and Mils Muliaina and Brad Thorn.

They all captained together, you know.

Ritchie was the leader, and that's what Luke gives us.

Yeah.

Conrad Smith.

Okay.

Yeah, Conrad Smith was a weapon.

He was a weapon.

Famous.

Mm.

Martin Manu and Conrad.

We've had better centers than Conrad Smith, but have we had a better combination? Probably not, and that's more important, isn't it? So I think when you talk about Jordie, you can't talk about him without actually talking about who the other guy is, uh, both inside and outside, and what that other guy, especially outside, provides for him so that he can do what he does.

Yeah.

'Cause we don't want Jordie Barrett to be Martin Manu and be a crash battering ram.

Uh, at, as it stands, now, this is ...

Th- I think this is a bit of a what era are you from, but who would your all-time All Blacks midfield combo be? Would it be Smith and Nonu? Would it be Bunce and Little?

Uh, I mean, I can't go past Smoking Joe Stanley.

Of course.

We've had some good ones.

We've had some doozies, yeah.

Conrad Smith-

Conrad Smith

Maybe there's always going to be sometimes because like Swains, he was just like, man, I just have to accept it.

I'm behind Conrad Smith, Richard Carr, Rui Marnon, and I'm just like – I easily would have been a test player for any other nation at that time.

But you're like, oh, I'm just behind like a rack of goats, you know? So how can I be the best he, you know, I can be? You know, being the best you can be is just such a...

It doesn't let you off.

I was fortunate.

I had Wayne Smith, and Steve Hansen, and Gilbert, Richie McCaw, and Daniel Carter, and Conrad Smith, and Brad Thorn, and Kevin Mealamu, and Andrew Hore, and those guys, and we discussed the game.

Like, and you learnt more from that discussion than I learnt anywhere else.

I heard you say just now you had this loss, you hit a wall.

Is there anything in the way that you evolved your coaching over time that was inspired specifically by her?

Oh, probably.

Uh, [laughs] she picked, uh, Conrad Smith.

Did she ever tell you that? She, she-

Quick hands for Smith.

Conrad Smith running great lines.

Smith, he's got support.

He'll do it himself.

Conrad Smith, what a try.

Just a minute after 4:00, Milsy and Guy on Sport Nation Live from the Fulltime Sports Bar in Kingsland on a Friday through until 6:00, ahead of a big, a big weekend of sport, which obviously includes the NRL grand final.

And in just a couple of minutes we will chat to Cooper Johns about exactly that.

Quick hands for Smith.

Conrad Smith running great lines.

Smith, he's got support.

He'll do it himself.

Conrad Smith, what a try.

Please, God, tell me we're dreaming.

Oh, could listen, watch Conrad Smith highlights forever.

What a player he was.