Wellington - Veteran Springbok lock Bakkies Botha has backed his under-siege captain John Smit, describing him as the best Springboks rugby captain he has played under.
Smit arrived at the Rugby World Cup plagued by media criticism that he is no longer South Africa's best hooker or best captain and that the Boks may be at a disadvantage by playing him.
But Botha, with typical directness, has endorsed Smit as South Africa's best captaincy option, saying "in leadership and as a person he's phenomenal."
Botha said Monday that "what's so phenomenal is he's getting all the criticism as not the best captain, not the best hooker, but it's like water off a duck's back."
* Can the Springboks fend off Wales in their RWC opener? Click HERE for the latest RWC odds on BET.CO.ZA
Follow Sport24 on Twitter and Facebook
Your Name
* Your Email
* Recipient's name
* Recipient's email
Your message
If you want to email this page to more than one person, just put a semicolon ";" between the email addresses. * = Compulsory
24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.
A few vital life lessons from Tank Lanning's recent trip to New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup quarter and semi-finals. Read More
Friday
LowHigh
12°C16°C
Australia
South Africa
Argentina
One of the Six Nations countries
New Zealand will defend their title
View Results | Vote Archive
12% Australia
63% South Africa
1% Argentina
10% One of the Six Nations countries
13% New Zealand will defend their title
Vote Archive
Twitter Follow Sport24 on Twitter
Newsletters Sign up for Sport24's Morning Glory newsletter
Blogs Yes your opinion counts. Get it out there
WIN Enter and win with Sport24!
Mobile Sport24 on your mobile phone - WAP, alerts, downloads, services
BlackBerry Stay in the loop on your BlackBerry
iPhone Latest Sport24 news on your iPhone
Facebook "Like" Sport24's Facebook page
TV schedule Plan your couch time with our searchable sport TV guide
RSS Feeds Sport news delivered really simply.