Smit plays down Boks title talk

JOHN SMIT is not getting carried away with South Africa’s good start to the Tri-Nations and insists his side “haven’t really done anything yet” ahead of today’s clash with Australia in Cape Town.

The Springboks currently lead the table following two wins from their two games, both coming against New Zealand, while the Wallabies lost their only game to the All Blacks in Auckland.

Smit and his team were the pre-tournament favourites and their gradual improvement in form has now led to even more talk of a first title since 2004.

“Everyone outside of our team has put our name on that cup already,” he told a press conference yesterday.

“We haven’t really done anything yet except for the norm. It’s expected that you have to win your home games. We’re far from saying anything about the series yet.

“You only start to claim for the title when you get on that plane. It’s how you travel that really matters.”

Smit, who will play his 87th match in the green and gold, feels that the Australians will offer a different proposition in comparison to New Zealand and warned his side to be fully prepared.

He continued: “What we can expect on Saturday is what we have been getting from Australia for the last couple of seasons.

“It will be a tough Test match which could go either way.

“The Australians have different strengths to other teams. They have good players, they prepare well, they do their homework and they dissect South African rugby a little better than most.

“They have ideas on how to play us and how to play around us. They engineer their preparation a bit better than most teams.”

The Sharks front-rower is also wary of the threat posed by the entire Australian unit, who he believes are packed with a good mix of youth and experience.

He added: “Australia have a number of stalwarts, but if I have to single out there are a couple of guys.

“We were talking about George (Smith) the other day and in those 100 Tests we can’t remember when he had a bad game. He is just so consistent.

“You can put Stirling (Mortlock) in the same bracket. Around that pair they also have a number of quality players.

“Under Robbie (Deans) they have emphasised the all-round effort and evolved, so we can expect what we’ve got from them in the last couple of years — and more.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Richie McCaw is suffering from a nerve problem in his neck which is likely to prevent him from playing any rugby prior to the All Blacks’ next Test against Australia on August 22.

While several of his international team-mates are turning out for their provinces this weekend, with more due back next weekend, McCaw is looking to shake off the problem ahead of the make-or-break showdown with the Wallabies in Sydney. The All Blacks skipper revealed he suffered the problem in the first Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein but played through it in the second loss to the Springboks in Durban last weekend.

“It’s given me a bit of grief, so this week is about getting that right,” the openside flanker said. “We’re going to have a yarn next week (with regards to playing provincial rugby). It’s important I get it right. That’s the reason I’m not playing this weekend and may not play next weekend.”

McCaw remains adamant that there was no confusion about the attacking game-plan they adopted against the Springboks but conceded they had tried to play too much rugby in their own half and that their basic skills had let them down.