'Hardest punch I ever took': John Smit's bust-up with Bok team-mate

Having earned 111 caps in South Africa’s front-row across an 11-year international career, former captain John Smit would have been at the heart of his fair share of skirmishes in training and in matches.

It is therefore somewhat surprising that the hardest punch the World Cup-winning captain ever took was from “the most peaceful oke in the world,” Jean de Villiers.

Despite being the best part of 20kgs heavier than the former South Africa centre, Smit was once sent flying by what he reckons was the only punch de Villiers has ever thrown in his life.

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Joining RugbyPass TV’s upcoming episode of Boks Office from London, in collaboration with Ben Youngs’ For the Love of Rugby, Smit gave a detailed account of this punch that has gone down in South African rugby folklore.

“It kept under wraps for a while,” Smit said. “We were invited to this beautiful wine farm for a celebration after the World Cup in 2007 and the Chenin Blanc was flowing the whole day. It came to a time where we had to get on the bus and head back to the hotel because it was the last day of the bus tour and we were going to end up heading into Parliament in Cape Town.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

2

Draws

0

Wins

3

Average Points scored

16

22

First try wins

80%

Home team wins

40%

“I’d taken a roady, a bottle of wine for the bus trip which was about 45 minutes back to the hotel. I was sitting second to last row on the bus and diagonally opposite in the third row to the right, Jean was sitting with his girlfriend, wife now, his girlfriend then, and there was some admin going on there. There was a little bit of argy bargy.

“I thought to cool things down, I would take a sip of my Chenin Blanc and spray it through my two front teeth onto them just to calm things down. So the first time, Jean said ‘don’t do that’ and he gets back into this argument with the missus. So obviously I do it again. The second time the rage in the eyes comes out- ‘Barney, don’t do that’. The third time, as I sprayed over, he jumped up- and I think it was a great distraction from the fight he was having because he could actually physically sort this fight out.

“As he stood up, I stood up and I was laughing and he absolutely banged me right here [on his jaw]. Hit me over the seat into the back of the bus. I sat there laughing and everyone was drunk enough to laugh at the same thing, but I didn’t remember a thing.

“I woke up the next morning and I couldn’t talk very well and I was thinking I must have fallen or something. We’re getting on the bus and there’s one person missing, JdV, there’s no JdV. I’m like ‘where is he?’ And everyone was like ‘does this oke not remember?’ Eventually, Victor comes up and says ‘hey dude, the oke’s not here because he smashed you last night’. So I phoned him and he was like ‘I’m so sorry Barney,’ I said ‘relax, just get to Parliament.’

“People always ask what’s the hardest punch you ever took in rugby, it was actually from Jean de Villiers, who’s the most peaceful oke in the world. I’m probably the only guy he’s ever punched.”