Tri-Nations
Boks simply the best?
2009-07-31 14:36
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Durban - Others can call them what they like, but the current Springbok side don’t consider themselves a golden generation, captain John Smit said on Friday after New Zealand coach Graham Henry had called them "the best South African side" he’s come up against.
The Boks, reigning world champions and the top ranked team in the world, face the All Blacks at Absa Stadium on Saturday as they look to extend their early lead on the Tri-Nations log.
But, Smit said, believing flattering comments from others would distract them from focusing on the task at hand.
"The important thing for us, perhaps, is that we need to listen as little as possible to that," Smit said.
"When you talk about golden eras of teams, it’s normally spoken about in hindsight. The more we hear about how good we are and what we should be doing, the worse it will be for us.
"I’m tasked as captain to keep perspective. The more we think about milestones and eras, the less we’ll think about what needs to be done today," said Smit, who on Saturday becomes the most capped captain ever when he plays his 60th Test as skipper.
Henry said that Smit’s team were formidable opposition and admitted the All Blacks would have their hands full again on Saturday as they look to bounce back from a 28-19 defeat in Bloemfontein last week.
"The South Africans are a very good side," Henry said. "They’re the No 1 ranked side in the world and they’re probably the best South African side that I’ve played against as a coach.
"We rate them very highly and they’re going to be a very difficult side to contain. We’ve tried to put things into action at training this week that we think will be effective, but we’ll have to wait and see."