Kwagga Smith

“It’s not about your size or the number on your back, it’s about what you do on the field that counts”

“Every week, I’d asked Cobus Reinach for advice on where to stand when covering at scrum-half, or someone in the back three for help with my positioning if I’m on the wing. Communication is so important at that level”

“I look back now and think about how that red card – or rather the reaction to that red card – tested me as a person, and eventually made me stronger”

“My dad laughed and said, ‘That’s fine then, we’ll go to the Lions’”

“I had two offers, one from the Lions and one from the Bulls. The guy at the Bulls said that I was too small to make it at professional level.”

“From the outset, I said that my work-rate rather than my size will define me.”

“I feel like it’s a good way to measure performance. I’ve never been the biggest player, and this way, I can be judged by what I do…”

“The mental and physical attributes I gained from those experiences went on to shape my rugby career.”

“If we weren’t working, my brother and I were out hunting or fishing. There wasn’t a TV in the house or anything like that, so we were always looking for ways to stay busy.”

“That kind of work can strengthen your body, and particularly your hands, in a very different way. When you’re doing that for hours on end, it can shape your mindset.”

“I probably couldn’t bench press 80kg in a gym, but I was workin g in an intense environment, loading 50kg bags onto a 30-ton fertiliser truck, and Lucerne bales onto a tractor trailer whenever we went out into the field.”

“Growing up on a farm, you have no choice but to tackle all sorts of challenges that you might not do in a city setting,”