Flyhalf Chris Smith is the Vodacom Bulls’ go-to-guy at No 10 in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, and he’s done so steadily, and almost stealthily.
The likes of DHL Stormers pivot Manie Libbok and Emirates Lions playmaker Gianni Lombard hog the spotlight in the URC courtesy of their all-round skills and precocious talent, yet Smith has flourished because he’s nailed down his primary responsibility: kicking his goals consistently.
Smith, a product of South Africa’s oldest high school, SACS, in Newlands, Cape Town, scored 123 points in 17 appearances in the 2021-22 URC. He kicked 50 from 64 shots at goal for a 78% conversion rate.
Picking up where he left off this season, the 28-year-old kicked four penalties to help the Bulls claim a hard-fought opening-round victory over the Lions.
A fit-again Johan Goosen and evergreen Morne Steyn have increased the competition for the Bulls No 10 jersey but Smith, who has just inked a two-year extension, is rising to the challenge at Loftus Versfeld.
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“If I have to compare myself to Morne and Johan … I didn’t play Craven Week or Academy Week, so I didn’t get the same exposure that those players got,” he said.
“I’m learning a great amount from both of them, and having both of them as mentors has brought the best out of my game.”
Smith’s match-winning drop-goal heroics in last season’s URC quarter-final against the Sharks was an example of his ability to zero in on the target in big games.
It was a clutch moment from Smith, but it was not one that surprised Bulls director of rugby Jake White, who has come to expect such consistency and big pressure plays from his No 10.
Post-match, White said Smith had said he was in two minds about having a crack at goal.
“Chris said to me he was terrified, but the nice thing is that it’s not the first time we’ve seen a Northern Transvaal player drop a kick over,” White said, alluding to iconic Bulls and Springbok flyhalf Naas Botha, not to mention Steyn and another Loftus darling, Derick Hougaard.
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Smith’s greatest strength is his ability to be consistent with a low error rate, while he also embraces a Bulls attacking system that gives him options by not forcing him to implement too big a playbook.
Joel Stransky, who famously kicked the drop goal for the Boks against the All Blacks to win the 1995 World Cup, believes Smith contributes to an environment where his teammates can flourish.
“What they do well is manage space well. Chris Smith is rock solid, defends well, frees up guys outside him,” Stransky said. “He kicks well and while he maybe doesn’t do the flashy things as often, he doesn’t make many mistakes.”
It has been a big past 12 months for the Smith sporting family, with younger brother Daniel picked to captain the South African U19 cricket team, just a few months after making his professional T20 debut for Western Province.
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