 Smit heading out for a game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | John William Smit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 3 April 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pietersburg, South Africa (now Polokwane, South Africa) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 268 lb (122 kg; 19 st 2 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Pretoria Boys High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Natal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Roxanne Smit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 daughters (Emma, Taylor), 1 son (Tyron) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby league career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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John William Smit, OIS, (born 3 April 1978) is a South African former professional rugby union player and former chief executive officer of the Sharks. He was the 50th captain of the Springbok rugby union team and led the team to win the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He played most of his senior career as a hooker, but also won 13 caps as a prop, where he had also played for South Africa's under-21 team.[2] He retired from international rugby following the 2011 Rugby World Cup as the most-capped South African player ever, with 111 appearances.
Smit was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011 (while still active at club level), alongside all other World Cup-winning captains and head coaches from the tournament's inception in 1987 through 2007 (minus the previously inducted John Eales).[3]
- ^ "Aviva Premiership Rugby – Saracens". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- ^ Ray, Craig (27 October 2008). "Smit must reinvent Bok role". The Sunday Times (Johannesburg). Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
- ^ "RWC legends inducted into IRB Hall of Fame" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.