John Smit this morning confirmed, via Twitter, that he will continue his rugby career with Saracens.
I have, unfortunately, neither the time nor the words to express exactly what this man has meant to Sharks rugby over the last decade – that will be the subject of another, far longer article.
For now, all I can say is “farewell, oh Captain!”. We wish you all the best in your next adventure.
Tweet
John was a Maximus for Sharks Rugby and Bok rugby. He has served us well…you will be greatly missed, but always remembered as one of the greatest.
LEGEND.
@Ice (Comment 1) : +1
He is off to Saracens for 2 years, whats the chances of him returning to coach the Sharks forwards? I think there is a fair bit of knowledge to be gained from the most capped international captain of all time!
Cheers Smitie. Thanks for everything. Enjoy your retirement stint in England! 😉
Cheers Barney, you Legend. 😀
LEGEND
I can’t say much more.
A true legend as a player and as a man. Thanks Barney, and all the best!
Thank you for all you’ve done for the Sharks and Good luck with Saracens 😛
One of the best we have had.
Smittie, go well. Sharks legend supreme.
What a great man, what a great Captain. This man is a true Legend and he leaves behing an awesome legacy for the young’uns to walk in. We will miss him, but wish him well. I hope that he has a future in South African rugby.
Arguably the greatest leader SA rugby has seen – a legend, and a gentleman to boot. Go well Barney!
Also, the Sharks should start discussions NOW with an eye on incorporating Smit into our coaching structures at some point in the future; there’s too much experience and intellectual capital there to simply discard.
A great servant of Sharks and Bok rugby. You will be missed, go well Barney.
No surprise here. We all knew he wouldn’t be here next year. SA-Rugby-Acens is a great place to end your career and get a feel if coaching is for you. Remember Francois Pienaar tried it, Brendan Venter. Thanks for the memories. Wear a Sharks shirt under your Bok jersey at the RWC final. We know Plum never gave you the opportunity to end on the high you deserved. Hopefully the RWC will provide the fitting swansong.
I wonder how they intend on using him. The guy is already 33 witrh a 2 year deal. Does this mean they will also use him as a mentor/coach at saracens as they already have a great hooker in Schalk Brits?
@Viking (Comment 15) : How old are you?
Good Luck john, Thanx for the wonderful memories. enjoy your retirement stint and hope to see you back as a sharks coach.
where is grant10? 👿
All the best John.
The best Bok Captain ever.
Legend for sure.
Enjoy those two years in England but hope to see you back at the Sharks coaching.
Best captain of all time!
Goodluck Smitty! Thanks for all the great memories with the Sharks and Boks. 🙂
Sorry we couldn’t give you a Super Rugby trophy in your final year with the Sharks. 🙁
Hopefully you can hold the Webb Ellis Trophy for a second time before retiring. 😀
You have been a loyal rugby player to the Sharks and the Boks as well as one of the great icons of South African rugby. 🙂
Enjoy your stay in Saracens and have fun buying all the things you want with the cash that you earn. 😎
He is Legand wait for it dary. Wish him al the best in England
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 20) : Do you think he has someone to look after his Mustang whilst he is away…? 💡
@Viking (Comment 15) : I was wondering the same thing but remember that the Saracens season is a long one and at some point in the campaign Schalk Brits will need to be rested and Saracens will have another World Cup winning (hopefully twice) Bok to call on. Also John Smit is versatile and can cover prop as well so he is a good player to have on the bench.
Furthermore Schalk Brits can play as a loose forward as well and so there is space for both if Saracens want to play them both in the starting XV.
@Ice (Comment 22) : Nah I’m sure he has already organised it to be flown across to England, sorry Ice maybe next time
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 24) : Dejammmm!! 😥 😆
Absolute servant of the game – you will be missed!
So long Smitty, and Thanks for All the Fish.
or Sharks to be more exact!
What are the chances that Smit returns in a couple of year’s time to coach the Sharks? 💡
Best bok captain of all time but not the best Sharks captain.
Don’t ask me who I think is the best sharks captain.
Legend!!!! Says it all!!!
So brits is on his way to…???
@Honey Badger (Comment 29) : Surely he’s the best if you can’t think of anyone better??
@Ben (Comment 32) : Maybe any other Sharks captain that won us a trophy 😎
@Honey Badger (Comment 33) : Most recent. Stefan Terblance and Johan Muller?
@Ben (Comment 34) : So they should have a better success ratio,with games as captain and trophies won.
For the sharks
interesting. One must not forget that John was captaining the side to topping the log in 2007 Super 14. The best super rugby campaign ever.
@rekinek (Comment 36) : i mean the best for the sharks.
I do wonder sometimes whether John shouldn’t have retired in 2009. Hopefully this year WC campaign will prove that he should have stayed.
It`s a sad day for Sharks rugby but we knew it had to come.
Safe to say he was the best captain we`ve ever had.
@rekinek (Comment 36) : Yes but what would you choose,the best campaign ever or the trophy with a worse campaign.
Can you imagine JS scoring the wc winning try,that would be classic!
@Honey Badger (Comment 40) : the one with a trophy 😎
However CC is not exactly super rugby , so hence I am prepared to be swayed on that point.
@rekinek (Comment 42) : But what do you think of comment 41. 😆
Will miss him but am grateful for his contribution. Glad to have seen him LIVE vs Waratahs (For the last time)
Till the 13 Aug I hope…
@Honey Badger (Comment 43) : would be 😎 wouldn’t it – but honestly my imagination a bit short on this one 😆
@rekinek (Comment 45) : Last play of the game and JS gets a line break,chips over the fullbacks head collects and score a 70 meter try.
@Honey Badger (Comment 46) : Ok your first suggestion (comment 41) was optimistically hopeful at best, but this one is just beyond even a good imagination… 😀