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Smith highlights De Villiers as danger man

July 02 2008

Conrad Smith has singled out South Africa's Jean de Villiers as the major worry for the All Blacks when the two teams meet in Wellington on Saturday.

Smith, who will start at thirteen alongside Hurricanes team-mate Ma'a Nonu, believes De Villiers is one of the best centres in the world at present.

After Richard Kahui turned in such a good debut display against England Smith initially feared for his place in the side, although coach Graham Henry had no hesitation in selection him.

Along with Stirling Mortlock of Australia Smith believes De Villiers is the form centre in world rugby going into Saturday's vital Tri-Nations opener.

"For the last couple of years he's been awesome and his game has come a long way and, leading the Stormers as he does, he's a special player so we've got a lot of work there," Smith told Sportal.nz.

"He's got it all.

"His defence is brilliant, he can read oppositions very well. When he's got the ball he's brilliant, he always takes the right option and can do most things whether it's kicking or playing or setting up guys and running himself, he's a pretty complete footballer."

Smith has been in fine form this season, shining against Ireland in dire conditions before scoring against England.

He said the All Blacks were expecting a much tougher appraisal of their defences from the Springboks than they received from either Ireland or England.

"Attacking wise they offer a lot more, a lot more dimensions to their game, they will test us defensively a lot more than what the English did," Smith said.

"The Irish were pretty hampered by the weather so they weren't able to play with much width either.

"But the Boks love doing that and they put us under a lot more pressure in the past. You can even relate it to Super 14 teams and the way they play and that's something we've got to be prepared for."

There had been a lot of talk among the All Blacks about the magnitude of the challenge they face on Saturday, especially given that the Springboks believe they can end a ten year drought in New Zealand.

"They are the world champions and they have got pretty much the same side as they had from the World Cup," he added.

"We're a pretty new side when you compare us to them so there's a lot of challenges and obviously there is the new rules and little things like that."

"I enjoy the ELVs. I enjoyed them through the Super 14 and I thought they were good for the game.

"There're a couple of new ones which I don't really know how they are going to affect things but we'll wait and see how the game goes.

"That was the same when the ELVs came in for the Super 14 no-one really knew how they were going to go but we'll train with them this week.

"I think they will open the game up even more."