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Rob Houwing
There was no lack of lead-up fanfare when Percy Montgomery became the first Springbok to reach the “century” landmark for his country almost exactly two years ago.
In fairness to the now-retired fullback, almost all of it wasn’t of his own making: he tried spiritedly to play it down in the press at the time, repeatedly saying things like “I try not to talk about it too much”.
But it was a constant issue, all the same, in the lead-up to the Newlands Test against the All Blacks, with coach Peter de Villiers conceding that the emotion surrounding the occasion was intense.
“I will try to keep him (Montgomery) calm … I know it must be like a whirlwind inside him,” he had said in the days ahead of the Tri-Nations encounter.
Accolades for “Monty” poured in, and there were understandable demands on his time.
His Bok teammates got into the spirit of things by all donning blond wigs in admiring tribute for a team photograph, too.
Come the Saturday, though, and Monty ton or no Monty ton, South Africa just could not seem to get out of the blocks against the visitors, earning an unwanted team milestone of failing to register a single home point against these opponents in a 19-0 defeat.
The normally dead-eye goal-kicker himself missed two penalties after halftime while the Boks were only 5-0 down, and the defeat chipped a bit of the gloss from his receipt of a post-game gold cap.
At least John Smit, the beneficiary of Saturday’s 100-cap laurel against same foes New Zealand in Soweto, did not lead his troops into battle that day; Victor Matfield deputised.
But now the veteran hooker has his turn in the 100-club spotlight, and you get the sense that SARU don’t want the occasion to turn too much into a “Smittie show”.
The word I have from the corridors of power is that “things are being planned in the way of presentations but there’s nothing ‘enormous’ scheduled”.
It is hard to imagine the unassuming and ever-honourable Smit wanting it any other way – especially as he enters this particular Test as a player under some personal pressure and surely knows it.
Besides, he may well benefit from the fact that he is the second rather than maiden Bok centurion and will now be the 15th international worldwide to reach the figure, with Matfield just a further game away as well.
In general terms, I fancy that Smit’s particularly poignant run-out at FNB Stadium – whether it ends in triumph or defeat – may have stronger benefits than it will drawbacks for the Boks on the day.
I say that because as things stand, South Africa will mostly field a “22” of troops with known, long-time loyalty and affection for their captain, and not want his big day to be anything but a joyous one.
There is also the opportunity for Smit, statistically, to even up his leadership record against the old enemy. Although he has only been on the winning side seven times in 18 appearances against the All Blacks, when he has been captain things have gone rather more swimmingly with five wins and six losses thus far.
I fervently hope that the Springbok recession of the past few weeks isn’t going to affect the reception he gets from the expected crowd of almost 90 000.
Not all of the recent woes, after all, are down to the players, with coach Peter de Villiers probably not doing either his captain or broader charges any favours with some of his public utterances or occasional antagonistic attitude toward, for instance, Test referees.
John Smit may well not be pencilled as a genuinely legendary player in any of his front-row positions when he calls time on his career, but his status as a Springbok captain of finest pedigree, including a World Cup win, can hardly be disputed.
And that is quite enough reason for a fittingly deafening cheer in his direction on Saturday.
Rob is Sport24's chief writer
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
There was no lack of lead-up fanfare when Percy Montgomery became the first Springbok to reach the “century” landmark for his country almost exactly two years ago.
In fairness to the now-retired fullback, almost all of it wasn’t of his own making: he tried spiritedly to play it down in the press at the time, repeatedly saying things like “I try not to talk about it too much”.
But it was a constant issue, all the same, in the lead-up to the Newlands Test against the All Blacks, with coach Peter de Villiers conceding that the emotion surrounding the occasion was intense.
“I will try to keep him (Montgomery) calm … I know it must be like a whirlwind inside him,” he had said in the days ahead of the Tri-Nations encounter.
Accolades for “Monty” poured in, and there were understandable demands on his time.
His Bok teammates got into the spirit of things by all donning blond wigs in admiring tribute for a team photograph, too.
Come the Saturday, though, and Monty ton or no Monty ton, South Africa just could not seem to get out of the blocks against the visitors, earning an unwanted team milestone of failing to register a single home point against these opponents in a 19-0 defeat.
The normally dead-eye goal-kicker himself missed two penalties after halftime while the Boks were only 5-0 down, and the defeat chipped a bit of the gloss from his receipt of a post-game gold cap.
At least John Smit, the beneficiary of Saturday’s 100-cap laurel against same foes New Zealand in Soweto, did not lead his troops into battle that day; Victor Matfield deputised.
But now the veteran hooker has his turn in the 100-club spotlight, and you get the sense that SARU don’t want the occasion to turn too much into a “Smittie show”.
The word I have from the corridors of power is that “things are being planned in the way of presentations but there’s nothing ‘enormous’ scheduled”.
It is hard to imagine the unassuming and ever-honourable Smit wanting it any other way – especially as he enters this particular Test as a player under some personal pressure and surely knows it.
Besides, he may well benefit from the fact that he is the second rather than maiden Bok centurion and will now be the 15th international worldwide to reach the figure, with Matfield just a further game away as well.
In general terms, I fancy that Smit’s particularly poignant run-out at FNB Stadium – whether it ends in triumph or defeat – may have stronger benefits than it will drawbacks for the Boks on the day.
I say that because as things stand, South Africa will mostly field a “22” of troops with known, long-time loyalty and affection for their captain, and not want his big day to be anything but a joyous one.
There is also the opportunity for Smit, statistically, to even up his leadership record against the old enemy. Although he has only been on the winning side seven times in 18 appearances against the All Blacks, when he has been captain things have gone rather more swimmingly with five wins and six losses thus far.
I fervently hope that the Springbok recession of the past few weeks isn’t going to affect the reception he gets from the expected crowd of almost 90 000.
Not all of the recent woes, after all, are down to the players, with coach Peter de Villiers probably not doing either his captain or broader charges any favours with some of his public utterances or occasional antagonistic attitude toward, for instance, Test referees.
John Smit may well not be pencilled as a genuinely legendary player in any of his front-row positions when he calls time on his career, but his status as a Springbok captain of finest pedigree, including a World Cup win, can hardly be disputed.
And that is quite enough reason for a fittingly deafening cheer in his direction on Saturday.
Rob is Sport24's chief writer
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
