Bulls flyhalf Chris Smith enjoying his time in the limelight

Chris Smith of the Bulls in action during the 2021 Rainbow Cup SA match against the Lions at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg

FILE - Chris Smith of the Bulls in action during the 2021 Rainbow Cup SA match against the Lions at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Published Mar 7, 2022

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Johannesburg — Arguably the Bulls third-choice flyhalf, the mercurial Chris Smith has finally had the opportunity to build a bit of momentum in the No 10 jumper with recent, match-winning performances.

Smith had a noteworthy outing for the Pretoria-based side this past weekend, marshalling the Bulls to a 53-27 victory over the Griquas in the Currie Cup by scoring 18 points in a Man of the Match performance; and a week earlier in United Rugby Championship (URC) action, help secure a 45-7 victory over Zebre away.

With former Springbok Morne Steyn still serving his suspension for dangerous play and Johan Goosen out of contention due to a long-term knee injury, Smith will in all likelihood once again strap on his boots for the URC clash against Munster on Friday at Loftus Versveld.

Smith, however, has not always enjoyed the appreciation of pundits and fans alike directed towards his more illustrious colleagues, but as he explained matter-of-factly on Monday in a media briefing, any criticism that comes his way, only acts as a motivational tool for his game.

“You obviously have to take the good and the bad and I like to use it as motivation,” the 27-year-old said.

“I started my professional career a bit later and I’d like to think I am a bit of a late bloomer, so I know that I have a long way to go. I am definitely driven to be the best I can be and luckily I have got really good mentors here, like (Steyn). Unfortunately, (Goosen) is injured at the moment, but there are good mentors that, hopefully, I can learn from and work on my game to build my strength and turn my weaknesses into strengths.

“Hopefully, (I can) put together the perfect game. I’m really working hard on the field and I obviously know what I need to work on.”

In recent weeks, the Bulls have been guilty of starting off slow. It was especially jarring against a poor Zebre side last month where they battled to take command of the tie in the first half. There was a much improved second half, however, where they dominated their hosts.

A similar phenomenon occurred against the Griquas, who held their much more fancied opposition to a 22-15 lead at half-time. The tactical nous of Smith spurred on their second half surge, however, towards a comfortable result. With third-place Munster looming large this week, it is a facet of their game that Smith insisted the team was working on.

“Here at the Bulls we are working on a complete game,” said Smith.

“I know in the recent two games, we haven’t started well. It is definitely something that we are putting extra focus on, so that we can at least start the first 20 well, maybe get the first points on the board.

“We do have the Bulls way in our bank but we don’t want to just resort to that – we also want to play an attractive brand of rugby where we can spread the ball wide and entertain.

It will be the first proper taste of Highveld condition for any European side, and Smith hinted at a possible kicking game coming the way of the Irish side, but Smith also expressed a belief that when it comes to conditions, heat may be their biggest ally.

Said the flyhalf: “We have a 4pm kick-off, so hopefully the sun is out and it is cooking. That would probably be more in our favour than altitude.”

@FreemanZAR

IOL Sport