HTS Middelburg legend Kwagga Smith will earn his 50th cap for the men in green and gold on Sunday, with the industrious forward slotting in at the eight versus Scotland.
Edinburgh will play host to the affair, which will mark a landmark day for the Rooies icon, who has cemented himself as a fan-favourite member of the South African ‘Bomb Squad’.
Despite being regularly selected among the replacements bench, Kwagga is no stranger to significant playing time. Oftentimes coming on and changing the momentum of the game in favour of the Bokke.
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At the beginning of his journey, Kwagga was repeatedly labelled ‘too small’ to have a lasting career in rugby.
Despite this, the ever reliable Smith has shown he possesses the stature, drive, and spirit of a player twice his size, proving his worth on the field tenfold.
The only thing that would make this weekend sweeter for fans of the Middelburg hero, would be if the Springboks walk away with victory thanks to Kwagga getting on the score sheet for his 10th international career try.
The Boks will set out with a makeshift lineup at Murrayfield Stadium, with Eben Etzebeth captaining the side and Willie le Roux coming in at fullback to help offer some veteran experience.
The full starting lineup is as follows:
15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls)
14 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls)
13 – Lukhanyo Am (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
12 – Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
10 – Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers)
9 – Jaden Hendrikse (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
8 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs)
7 – Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls)
6 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls
5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks)
3 – Thomas du Toit (Bath)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
1 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears)
17 – Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls)
18 – Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
19 – RG Snyman (Leinster)
20 – Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
21 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz)
22 – Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks)
23 – Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
