 Smith playing in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Albertus Stephanus Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 11 June 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lydenburg, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 100 kg (220 lb; 15 st 10 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Hoër Tegniese Skool Middelburg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albertus Stephanus Smith (born 11 June 1993), known mononymously as Kwagga, is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the Shizuoka Blue Revs in Japan Rugby League One and South Africa national rugby team.[2] His regular position is flanker.
He was a member of the South Africa Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and of the South Africa team that won the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2023 Rugby World Cup.
YouTube Encyclopedic
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One Of Rugbys Hardest Men | Kwagga Smith Beast Mode
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Kwagga Smith Tribute | The Swiss Army Knife
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Kwagga Smith Tribute | Beast Mode
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The Final Whistle | Kwagga Smith's performance against Wales
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BEAST MODE: Kwagga Smith v NEC Green Rockets
Transcription
Rugby career
Youth
He played school rugby for HTS Middelburg in Mpumalanga, which led to his inclusion in the Pumas U18 squads that played at the Craven Week competitions in 2010 and 2011.
After school, he moved to Johannesburg, where he joined the Golden Lions. He started in nine matches for the Golden Lions U19 side during the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring four tries.
He was selected in the South Africa U20 side that played at the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France. His only appearance in the pool stages came when he came played off the bench in the 97–0 victory over the United States.[3] He didn't play in their matches against England[4] and France,[5] but he did return to the bench for their semi-final clash with Wales. He came on in the first half and scored one of South Africa's two tries in the match, but it wasn't enough to prevent them losing the match 18–17 as Wales progressed to the final.[6] Smith was again named in their final match of the tournament, the third-placed play-off against New Zealand, and once again scored a try for the Baby Boks to help the team to a 41–34 victory and to clinch third place in the competition.[7]
He returned to domestic action later in 2013, making ten appearances for the Golden Lions U21 side in the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring four tries in the process. He also played for the same team in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship.
Sevens
At the end of 2013, Smith joined the South Africa Sevens side. He made his debut on the international IRB Sevens World Series circuit at the 2013 South Africa Sevens event, helping his side to victory in their home tournament for just the second time ever, beating New Zealand in the Cup final.[8] He appeared in six legs of the 2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series, following up the event in South Africa with appearances in the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, Scotland and London legs of the tournament.
He was selected in the squad that played at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and helped his side to a 17–12 victory over a New Zealand team that won the previous four consecutive tournaments.[9]
Golden Lions
He was included in the Golden Lions first team squad for the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division and was named on the bench for their Round Two match against the Eastern Province Kings in Johannesburg.[10]
2016 Summer Olympics
Smith was included in a 12-man squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[11] He was named in the starting line-up for their first match in Group B of the competition against Spain, with South Africa winning the match 24–0.[12][13]
Yamaha Júbilo
In July 2018, Smith joined Japanese side Yamaha Júbilo for the 2018–19 Top League season.[14]
South Africa
Smith was named in the South Africa squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[15] Smith played two matches, against Namibia and Canada in the pool stage, starting both at openside flanker. South Africa went on to win the tournament, defeating England in the final.[16]
In 2021, Smith was part of the South Africa squad for the tests against the British and Irish Lions and Georgia. In the game against Georgia, he scored his first test try, playing as 8th man. He went on to feature for the rest of 2021, including the 2021 Rugby Championship and 2021 Autumn Nations Series, predominantly at the blindside flank and also number 8.
References
- ^ a b "Kwagga Smith player profile". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Kwagga Smith". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 97–0 USA". South African Rugby Union. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 31–24 England". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – France 19–26 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17–18 Wales". South African Rugby Union. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 41–34 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "Inspired South Africa win home Sevens title". IRB. 8 December 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Glasgow 2014 – Men's Rugby Sevens Gold Medal Match". Glasgow 2014 – XX Commonwealth Games. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- ^ "Team announcement – Xerox Golden Lions vs EP Kings". Golden Lions. 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- ^ "Rugby Sevens squad for Olympics named". South African Rugby Union. 14 July 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "Men Schedule & Results – Olympic Rugby Sevens (RSA–ESP)". Rio 2016. 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "Olympic Games Men's Sevens, Match 2". World Rugby. 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "2018年度、新加入選手のお知らせ" (Press release). Yamaha Júbilo. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ^ "South Africa World Cup squad: Siya Kolisi wins fitness battle, Eben Etzebeth backed, Aphiwe Dyantyi dropped". Independent. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
- ^ "England 12-32 South Africa: Springboks win World Cup for record-equalling third time". BBC. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
External links
- Kwagga Smith at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Kwagga Smith at the World Rugby Men's Sevens Series
- Kwagga Smith at ESPNscrum
- Kwagga Smith at ItsRugby.co.uk
- Kwagga Smith at Olympedia
- Kwagga Smith at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
This page was last edited on 1 March 2024, at 15:49