KWAGGA SMITH

The Springboks have a point to prove against Ireland, says the flanker

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WHEN SOUTH Africa’s coaches talk about “battle stats”, they often cite Kwagga Smith as a prime example. Usually deployed off the bench, his impact was a key component of the Boks’ World Cup wins in 2019 and 2023.

At France 2023, he turned over or disrupted 42% of the defensive rucks he hit – the best success rate in the competition (see panel).

A bronze medallist at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Smith owns a pecan-nut farm in Mpumalanga but is currently playing in Japan. RW caught up with him as he recovered from groin surgery…

RW: How does the standard of club rugby in Japan compare to when you first arrived in 2018?

KS: The league has improved a lot since Japan hosted the 2019 World Cup. It’s fun playing there but not as easy as everyone thinks. The number of world-class players makes the competition tough.

Japanese rugby has grown a lot since 2019. This season we’ve had five or six games with over 30,000 fans. The companies put in good money to get the right foreign players and to develop Japanese players, who benefit from playing with and against the likes of Ardie Savea, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith and Brodie Retallick, as well as all the Springboks there. You’ve made 50 appearances in

Japan over six seasons, which is a very light workload compared to many. Does that work for you?