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Wales prop Nicky Smith on why he signed for Leicester Tigers
By Simon Thomas
Wales prop Nicky Smith is looking to sign off on a high before leaving the Ospreys at the end of this season.
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The 46-cap loosehead will be joining Leicester this summer after some 12 years with the region.
But first he wants to help the seventh-placed Ospreys secure a spot in the BKT URC play-offs, with this weekend’s Cape Town clash launching a five-match run-in.
Reflecting on signing for the Tigers, the 30-year-old said: “It was certaining a tough decision.
“Playing for the Ospreys has meant everything to me, being a Swansea boy, living ten minutes from the ground. It’s been an absolute honour for me to pull on the jersey.
“But where I am in my rugby career and, more importantly, my family life, it’s the right time to test myself in a different league and a different environment.
“It’s a strange feeling, but I am just looking to finish on a high.
“I am so keen to help the boys as much as I can to get into those play-offs and push for silverware.
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“We want to get to the play-offs. It won’t be a success if we don’t make it.”
The Ospreys face back-to-back fixtures out in South Africa, with Saturday’s game against the Stormers followed by an encounter with the Bulls in Pretoria.
“It’s exciting,” said Smith. “It’s the home of rugby here. You can see it everywhere that they love the sport.
“The heat has taken us heavy boys off guard a little bit, but it’s been nice. The weather back home, with the rain, has been miserable. The boys are a lot happier with the sun on their backs.
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“We know how important this tour is to pick up some vital points leading into the last three games of the season to really put ourselves in a good position.”
World Cup-winning Springboks prop Frans Malherbe will captain the Stormers, with their director of rugby John Dobson saying his team “will need to fire from the first whistle to get the result we need against a highly competitive Ospreys side”.
DHL Stadium, Cape Town – KO 18.15 IRE & UK / 19.15 ITA & SA
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 94th league game)
AR 1: Cwengile Jadzweni (SARU) AR 2: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)
TMO: Chris Busby (IRFU)
Live on: SuperSport, S4C, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
DHL Stormers: Warrick Gelant, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Wandisile Simelane, Dan du Plessis, Ben Loader, Manie Libbok, Stefan Ungerer, Brok Harris, JJ Kotze, Frans Malherbe (CAPT), Adre Smith, Gary Porter, Nama Xaba, Hacjivah Dayimani, Evan Roos
Replacements: Scarra Ntubeni, Kwenzo Blose, Sazi Sandi, Ruben van Heerden, Willie Engelbrecht, Marcel Theunissen, Paul de Wet, Damian Willemse
Ospreys: Max Nagy, Luke Morgan, Keiran Williams, Owen Watkin, Keelan Giles, Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Nicky Smith, Sam Parry, Rhys Henry, Victor Sekekete, Huw Sutton, James Ratti, Harri Deaves, Morgan Morris (CAPT)
Replacements: Lewis Lloyd, Garyn Phillips, Ben Warren, Adam Beard, Jeandre Rudolph, Luke Davies, Jack Walsh, Evardi Boshoff
