Springbok captain John Smit has confirmed the speculation

Sharks and Springbok captain John Smit has confirmed the speculation that he is to conclude his career with a two-season stint at Saracens of London and has also announced his retirement from the international game, effective the end of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Smit had initially planned to finish up his playing days in Durban at the Sharks, possibly in next year’s Absa Currie Cup but an offer out of the blue from Saracens changed his mind.

“This move to Saracens had not been part of the plan,” Smit said yesterday. “I had hoped to maybe phase out my career at the Sharks, playing less and doing more mentoring but then about six weeks ago I was approached with a really nice offer to play in London, which is something I have always wanted to do, and to be able to take my family there for two years will mean really good bonding time after a lot of travelling over the years.”

Saracens want Smit to take some of the pressure off his countryman Schalk Brits, who last season played a staggering 51 consecutive matches at hooker for the club, and also want Smit to teach the tricks of the trade to two promising under-21 hookers in their squad.

Smit said that although his final season in South Africa has been “not quite what I would have liked in terms of playing time,” with much of that down to ill-timed injuries, he said nothing would sour the 14 years he enjoyed at the Sharks since arriving at the Shark Tank in 1997 at age 19 from his native Pretoria.

“Kings Park will always be my home and the Sharks my team, but the time has come to move on to a final chapter elsewhere. To be honest, I don’t think I have another Super Rugby campaign in me! The youngsters can take up the baton,” the 33-year-old said.

Smit will be forever remembered as one of the favourite sons of Natal and Sharks rugby. Apart from a short stint at Clermont in France, he has played only for the Sharks, racking up 125 Super caps and 61 in the Currie Cup – that latter total would have been far more had he not been on the international stage accumulating 103 caps for the Springboks.

“At Saracens I will not have the responsibility of captaincy and I suddenly have two more seasons of rugby that I never thought I would have, mostly because of how they want to use me there.”

Regarding his Springbok career, Smit said he would withhold comment until after the World Cup.

by Mike Greenaway

www.iol.co.za