Smit: Not going to Stormers
Stormers head coach Allister Coetzee has poured cold water on speculation that former Springbok captain John Smit may be heading to Cape Town.
With youngster Scarra Ntubeni having had an operation to repair his injured shoulder - ruling him out until April - hooking depth is needed.
Springbok hooker Tiaan Liebenberg, a regular favourite with those who like to bet on rugby, continues to make good progress from his back injury, with the coach saying that he should be back by Week 3.
"At this stage I'd say he's at about 60/70%, but he needs to get his conditioning up to speed. You cannot just step in and play Super Rugby after a lay-off, he's a bit behind the other guys in that regard," he told the Stormers' website.
With Currie Cup-winning captain Deon Fourie the only fit and experienced hooker at Coetzee's disposal at present, he admitted that they were looking outside the region for a number two - a statement which saw bookmaker like Paddy Power install Smit as a favourite for a move to The Mother City.
"It's a specialist position, so you need an experienced player (at hooker)," said Coetzee,
"Scarra (who is now injured), is our young hooker so there is no need for another youngster.
"We are talking to three possible hookers and I can tell you that John Smit is definitely not one of those players we are talking to!
"As soon as something is finalised with one of those players, all of whom are South African-based players, we will announce it - as we normally do."
Comments
daibok says...
I dont think Smit is fit for Super rugby nowadays and is a long way behind Fourie and Liebenberg and even Ntubeni. 30 minute stints for Sarries as an impact player is about right for this stage of his career. This was always paper talk in the SA media.
Posted 15:47 23rd January 2013