Smit proud of all-conquering South Africa
John Smit the leader of a great team
Also In The News
|
Real Madrid and Manchester United have finalised an agreement for the £80 million transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo. |  |
Saturday, 27, Jun 2009 06:55
South Africa captain John Smit praised the character his side showed to come back from the brink of defeat to win the second Test against the British and Irish Lions.
It was the Lions who dominated early on as they took advantage of Schalk Burger being sin-binned in the first minute to take a 10-0 lead thanks to a try from Rob Kearney and a Stephen Jones penalty.
The world champions looked down and out midway into the second-half as they trailed 19-8, but clawed themselves back into the game and Morne Steyn kicked a last-gasp penalty to secure a Test series winning 28-25 win for the Springboks.
"This is a special crop of players who find victories in the darkest of rooms," said Smit."Not many teams could have come back from 10-0 down and one man down and I'm very proud of them," said Smit.
"I said 'wake up' at halftime. We were down on physicality and intensity but we managed to step it up in the second half. Today was a far bigger test than last week.
"From the crowd reaction, it was if we had already won the game when Morne Steyn came on. He's a special talent and hopefully he can keep winning games for South Africa."
The loss was a devastating blow for the Lions, but for the high-class South African side, it was another huge achievement after their World Cup win in 2007.
It also makes amends for the Test series defeat to the Lions in 1997 when a last-gasp drop-goal from Jerry Guscott saw the Lions claim a famous win.