Kwagga Smith excited to play first Bok Test at ‘old home’ — Ellis Park

Springbok loose forward Kwagga Smith is excited to be back where it all started for him and is looking forward to representing his national side at Ellis Park for the first time during the second All Blacks Test on Saturday.

Smith began his senior career at the iconic ground back in 2014, representing the Lions, with him featuring over 80 times for them over five years before making the move to Japan.

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“My senior career started with the Lions at Ellis Park. This will be the first time representing the Springboks at Ellis Park, so for me it’s great to be back and able to play there again,” said Smith.

“I am from up here so it’s great to have the local support behind you. It’s a great place, I have good memories there and we are really excited for this game coming up.”

Since making his Bok debut in 2018, Smith has struggled to nail down a permanent place in the national set-up, but over the past two seasons has started to become an integral part of the bomb squad, with his versatility off the bench a big plus for the team.

“I think last year I already started building with the British and Irish Lions (series). It was great playing there and those were big games for me. I then just tried to build on those performances every weekend,” explained Smith.

“The end of year tour last year was good for me. I had a lot of exposure there where I started some of those games which was nice.

 “But for me it’s just building on my performance every weekend and trying to get better. Test level is something else, it’s not the same as club level. It’s not always easy, but I am happy to build on my performance every weekend and try be the best player I can be.”

Indispensable player

Another reason Smith has become indispensable to the Boks in recent times is his ability to play in the backline in an emergency, due to his Sevens background and the team preferring the six-two split of forwards to backs in games.

This has been particularly highlighted over the last two matches where early injuries, to Cheslin Kolbe against Wales, and Faf de Klerk against the All Blacks, meant Smith was on standby should any further injuries have occurred.

“For me it started a long time ago with coach Johan Ackermann. He also went with a six-two split and I was also the back-up there if something happened to the backs at the Lions,” said Smith.

“But I don’t focus on that because the chances of that happening are slim. So for me it’s just to focus on my game. If that opportunity comes I will take it and the backs I will be playing with have a lot of experience and will help me a lot in that process to just slot in and do my best.”

Looking to this weekend’s match, Smith is excited for the chance to get another win over their massive rivals, but knows that they team will have to be at the top of their game.

“Having two All Blacks Test games at home is a huge advantage for us. I don’t know when that last happened. So it is an opportunity for us to go 2-0 up on them,” said Smith.

“But we know it’s going to be a big challenge and it’s not going to be easy. So we will take it as it comes and work really hard for that victory.”