Juan Smith
Birth name | Juanne Hugo Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 30 July 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Bloemfontein, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 112 kg (17 st 9 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | JBM Hertzog High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Juanne Hugo Smith (born 30 July 1981) is a South African former professional
Career
Smith made his international debut for South Africa on 7 June 2003 as a reserve in the 29–25 victory over
Smith was included in the Springboks squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. He played in four matches at the World Cup and scored a try in the match against Manu Samoa. Although he only played the one Test for South Africa during 2004 – against Wales at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in November, he was capped 10 times for the Springboks the following season.
He was a reserve in matches against Uruguay and France, before being moving up into the starting line-up again as a flanker for the 2005 Tri Nations Series. The Free State Cheetahs made it to the 2005 Currie Cup final, where they defeated the Blue Bulls to win the championship. He then played in the 20–16 loss against France at Stade de France in Paris.
The Cheetahs gained entrance into the Super 14, and competed in the
Smith was a key part of the World Cup-winning team to lift the Webb Ellis trophy in 2007. Although Smith wears the number seven on the back of his shirt, implying that he is an open side flanker, he is actually a blindside flanker, as the custom in South Africa is for openside to wear the number six rather than seven. Renowned for his strong ball carrying, Smith is one of the best blindside flankers in the world.
On 25 February 2011, in a Super Rugby match against the Bulls in Bloemfontein, Smith tore his Achilles tendon, which caused him to miss the rest of the 2011 Super Rugby season, as well as the Tri Nations and the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
In April 2012, Smith announced that he would be taking an indefinite break from rugby due to the ongoing battle with his Achilles injury.[1] He had had four operations on the injury but was concerned that the recovery was taking longer than he had hoped. "The right thing to do now is to give my injury sufficient time to heal 100%," Smith said in an interview with the Volksblad newspaper.[1]
Despite making his long-awaited comeback for the Cheetahs playing against the Bulls in a pre-season game in February 2013, the results of a subsequent MRI scan forced Smith to announce his retirement from the game.[2][3]
On 10 September 2013 it was announced that Smith had been persuaded to come out of retirement and had signed a deal with
Smith's 2013 season return to rugby resembles a fairytale story. Returning from a career ending injury to an unprecedentedly successful season, Toulon won the
Smith then had a short stint in Japan with Toyota Verblitz, but left citing family reasons,[8] and retired from all rugby in 2017.[9]
Honours
- South Africa Under-21
- World Cup: 2002
- Currie Cup: 2005
- South Africa
- Heineken Cup European Champions/European Rugby Champions Cup: 2014, 2015
- Top 14 French League: 2014
References
- ^ a b "Juan Smith out for the year". News24. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "Juan Smith calls it a day". Sport24. Media24. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ^ "Ballz interview". Archived from the original on 21 April 2013.
- ^ "Juan Smith est Toulonnais - RCT - Rugby Club Toulonnais". RCT - Rugby Club Toulonnais (in French). 10 September 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "Toulon are crowned Heineken Cup champions". RTE.ie. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "Match Report | Toulon v Castres - 31st May 2014 | Sky Sports | Rugby Union News". www.skysports.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2014.
- ^ "Springboks bring back veteran Juan Smith". SBS News. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "Springboks 2007 World Cup stars: Where are they now?". www.rugbypass.com. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ "Where are they now: 2002 U21 Junior Boks (Forwards)". www.sarugbymag.co.za. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
External links
- Cheetahs profile
- "SA Rugby Player Profile – Juan Smith". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- Juan Smith on genslin.us
- Profile at ESPN Scrum