Aaron Smith describes the 'yin and yang' of playing Springboks in final
All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith says playing the Springboks is a unique challenge that requires a certain attitude and intent.
The 34-year-old will start in his second Rugby World Cup final this weekend, playing his 125th and final game for the All Blacks.
Hoping to add the final polish to his legacy and leave international rugby on the highest of highs, Smith is drawing on his 11 years of experience playing against the Springboks.
“Well it’s always a funny one with the South Africans,” he told The Front Row Daily Show. “Because they’re really big men, for me, in that week it’s always about showing as much courage and intent as you can but also knowing it’s going to be a heavily forward-dominated game.
“They’re going to try slow our ball down and I want to make sure we can play at speed, move their big boys around, try suck juice out of them so their scrum and maul isn’t as good.
“When I have to make those tackles and tackle those big boys, it’s like I said, show that courage and be courageous and go in there and go low and hang on.
“It’s a yin and yang for me, being as physical and tough as you can, but also I want to put them under pressure by my speed and my skill and as a team and as an attack. But they always bring the best out of us.
“you know where you’ve got to go mentally and physically and also know that if we play at a speed and tempo and trust our instincts, we can do special things against them as well.”
Smith’s is one of many legendary careers international rugby will farewell in the final weekend of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, including fellow All Blacks legends Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Dane Coles and Beauden Barrett.
He’s been mindful of not letting his emotions throughout his final weeks in the black jersey overwhelm him but is very clear on what the journey means.
“It means everything to me in the sense of, well, I’m small. I’m from a small town. I was undersized and highly doubted from a lot of people. But then, I also had people who highly believed in me and gave me the ambition to dream big and gave me the confidence to go hey, you can do it if you want to play for your country, to put on the black jersey. I’ve been very blessed to pull it on a lot of times and there’s nothing better than that.
“That’s why I play, that’s why I wake up every day, that’s why I train as hard as I do and focus and set goals. It’s because I want to wear that jersey again.
“It’s such a special and limited time you get in the jersey and I just want to have no regrets.
“Pulling it on, that cloak, the black cloak and the silver fern on your chest, it makes you think of family, all the pain. But then you look around and see the other brothers in black, you sing the anthem, you do the haka, and then the whistle goes and to be a part of that legacy just means a lot.”
While balancing the emotional and physical challenges of such a game, Smith is keeping everything in perspective.
“It’s very unique but it’s also, as much as it’s a really big game, trying to keep it as normal as possible as well. But knowing the stakes on the line; this is the game to give it absolutely everything you’ve got, empty the tank, see where the cards lie.
“We’re in the big dance and we’ve got an opportunity. This was the chance I wanted, that came down to nailing each week, each day and that’s all I’ve been trying to do and give the energy and love and respect the jersey deserves. And our country, representing them as best we can.”
Comments on RugbyPass
A great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
3 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
3 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
3 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
87 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
228 Go to comments