Kwagga Smith on reaching 50 Tests for Boks: ‘Very special’

It was an extra special occasion for Springbok loose forward Kwagga Smith on Sunday night, when he celebrated his 50^th appearance for the Boks with a 32-15 win over Scotland at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.

Smith started the match at eighthman in his landmark game, and played around 45 minutes before the Bok ‘bomb squad’ came on the field which saw seven forward replacements in the pack.

Despite coming off early, Smith was just happy to have been on the pitch, and was thrilled that his teammates managed to pull through a win.

Victory at Murrayfield

“Playing at Murrayfield and getting a win in my 50^th game was very special. I thought Scotland played very well,” said Smith.

“Unfortunately, we made a lot of mistakes. But for the boys to pull it through and get the result was memorable and it’s a real honour to mark the occasion with this team.”

Smith has enjoyed a special journey over the years to 50 Tests for the Boks, including many ups and downs, with him initially starting out as a brilliant Sevens player for the Blitzboks.

However, he made his mark on the 15s game with some superb performances for the Lions and was part of the squad that competed in three straight Super Rugby finals from 2016-2018.

Although he won’t remember the 2017 final too fondly after he picked up a red card for taking a player out in the air, with the Lions going on to lose 17-25 against the Crusaders at Ellis Park.

Bok debut

He finally made his Bok debut in 2018 in a one-off Test against Wales in Washington DC, and didn’t feature for them again that year.

In 2019 after an injury to Bok captain Siya Kolisi, Smith stepped in during the Rugby Championship and the rest is history, as he became a regular feature in the squad.

The Boks won the shortened Rugby Championship in 2019, as well as the World Cup in Japan, triumphed in the 2021 British and Irish Lions series, clinched a second straight World Cup title in France last year, and won the full Rugby Championship this year.

It has thus been an incredibly successful career for Smith so far and at 31 he still has a number of years left in him, and he will probably be targeting the next World Cup in Australia in 2027.

“Playing Sevens and going to the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as playing 35 tournaments for the Blitzboks was fantastic, but then you set your next goal, and I wanted to be a Springbok,” explained Smith.

“I didn’t think I’d get to 50 Test matches, so it’s an honour and special to give something back to this team.

“The team just speaks for itself. We have a good environment. There is good internal competition but we all believe in the same dream and we all work together to reach those dreams.”

The Boks next take on England at Twickenham this Saturday and Smith is expected to take up his more familiar role as a member of the ‘bomb squad’.