10 Things you don’t know about John Smit

1.  Full Name John William Smit

2.  John Smit is the 50th captain of the South African national rugby union team, the Springboks, and currently CEO of Sharks Rugby

3.  John Smit was born 3 April 1978 in Pietersburg, South Africa

4.  John Smit attended Pretoria Boys High School where he was head prefect in 1996 and played for the school’s First XV from 1994 to 1996.

5.  John Smit played his first Springbok game in 2000 at the age of 22, when South Africa beat Canada 51–18 at Basil Kenyon Stadium in East London

6.  In 2004, John Smit was made captain of the squad by then new coach Jake White, that he became a regular member of the starting XV.

7.  In the first test against New Zealand, Smit equalled the record of 59 Tests as captain held by Australia’s George Gregan and England’s Will Carling. The following week, he became the most-capped captain in international rugby history

8.  As of September 2009, John Smit is one of South Africa’s most successful captains ever, having led the Springboks to victory in 46 of the 64 games that he captained, a win percentage of 72%. He has won more Tests as captain than any other Springbok has played as captain

9.  While still active at club level, John Smit was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011, alongside all other Rugby World Cup-winning captains and head coaches from the tournament’s inception in 1987 through 2007

10.  John Smit retired from international rugby following the 2011 Rugby World Cup as the most-capped player in South African history, with 111 appearances.