John Smit

So this is a short week and it's about mental application in Baltimore but, you know, besides that, how was Soweto? My first time back in that stadium since 2010.

The famous, um, you know, John Smit, Ma'a Nonu boot 100th game, uh, test match, which we, we lost on the hooter.

Um, but like Soweto, you know, pitched up but the atmosphere was unreal.

You know, how's that stadium when it's jam packed? There are 86,000 people-

Speaking about leadership, uh, South African's captain, Siya Kolisi's 55th test victory as Springbok captain.

Most of all time.

Moving him beyond John Smit for the most wins by a Bok skipper.

No, that's-

Yeah, World Cup winners.

And there was John Smit, Makazole Mapimpi, Butch James, Bakkies Botha.

What did you talk to Butch J- Butch James about?

Um, Bath.

Yes.

Uh, the very first one, uh, John Smit's 100th game.

It was such a, a brutal, uh, encounter, as they always are, playing in front of 96,000 people.

The crowd was absolutely ballistic that day.

You know, he had so much respect-

Yeah

... uh, John Smit, for, for everything that he had achieved and, and given the g- the game of rugby.

And our backs were against the wall.

You, you, you know, it's, it's actually quite a, a, a well-formed organization.

Yeah, I think, uh, John Smit started with the idea, and then we had, uh, Adley Murray that came in with John and time, uh, drive it, and then, I mean, with Peregrine coming in and supporting us, it's so much easier.

And I mean, the function, I, I haven't been to a function.

It was so well planned.

They're not as smooth as the scrum halves and the fly halves and the, and the former, uh, captains like Bill Beaumont.

So they end up, you know, being underrepresented, very few prop captains since John Smit.

Um, and, and so they, they just kinda talk about the scrum as an esoteric thing.

Here's what they lose, they don't get, is when you make a scrum irrelevant or immaterial- It actually makes the game less dramatic.

What do you mean De Allende doesn't count? What is one of the, one of the best centers in world rugby, what are you talking about? Centurions for the Springboks against the All Blacks, it's not a thing.

Like John Smit, lost.

Uh, John De Villiers-

Yeah

So it was Dan Carter.

It was Richie McCaw.

It was John Smith, our World Cup winning captain, another Boc captain in Jean de Villiers.

I watched them together.

And the big takeaway was, one, how softly spoken Richie McCaw is.

You know what I mean

... your John Smit of old.

Yeah.

Um, who- who by the way, you don't need to necessarily be the, the best in your position.

Yeah

... that you need.

We did that for many years maybe with John Smit, but, but, but the diff-

I, I think so.