Springbok captain applauds Botswana

NELSON DIRENG
Correspondent | Monday October 11, 2010 00:00

 

The player this year was South African rugby national team, Springboks, captain John Smit who was the guest speaker at the event.

Earlier on the day Smit met with the Tlamelo Vultures to assess their progress. He told Monitor Sport that comparing the progress of the young team this year to two years ago when they first started, 'one can tell that there is a significant improvement in the way they play.' He said that this shows that the GRBC together with the Botswana Rugby Union (BRU) are doing a great job to push Botswana rugby forward. He said he would continue supporting the programme in any way he can. Smit said that it is always important to look out for the well-being of children before anyone else. 'There are several rugby projects back in South Africa in which I have participated that are also aimed at helping disadvantaged children,' he said.

Smit, who is on break from the Springboks and his club, The Sharks, due to a neck injury, said he hopes to be back on the field come January next year. The 32-year-old hooker said he would love to participate in two more World Cups before he retires. 'It's been just two-weeks since I got injured but so far I'm feeling good,' he said.

Smit left Gaborone for South Africa on Saturday morning. He said that from his short visit to Botswana, things didn't seem very different from what he was used to back home. 'Nonetheless I would like to visit Botswana again and stay a bit longer so I can find out more if the place is really like South Africa,' he said.

GRFC chairman Berand Botha said that taking Tlamelo Vultures under their wing this year marks one of their highlights. He said that money raised from the dinner would be used on improving their facilities at the Wharic Park whilst part of it would be used to develop the Mini-Hogs team of which the Tlamelo Vultures are members.

'We believe that Smit's visit to Botswana will give the boys motivation to want to succeed as successful rugby players one day,' he said.

For most of his visit, Smit signed autographs and interacted with his fans from Botswana. Accompanying him was a crew of Supersport journalists who are documenting a programme about the GRFC. The programme also incorporates the story of Tlamelo Vultures, children from underprivileged families introduced to rugby. The first segment of the programme was expected to be aired on Sunday on Blitz Sport whilst the other segment is expected to broadcast sometime during the week on the Total Rugby show.