South African Rugby
Juan Smith ruled out for the year
ESPNscrum Staff
April 4, 2012
South Africa flanker Juan Smith, South Africa v Australia, Tri-Nations, Newlands, Cape Town, August 8, 2009
Juan Smith will not play in 2012 © Getty Images
Enlarge
Related Links
Players/Officials: Juan Smith
Tournaments/Tours: Super Rugby

Cheetahs skipper Juan Smith has confirmed that he will be sidelined for the remainder of the year as he continues to battle an Achilles problem.

The 30-year-old flanker suffered the injury during last year's Super Rugby campaign and sat out South Africa's Rugby World Cup campaign as a result.

The news will be a major blow to South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer, who will now be forced to do without one of his most experienced and reliable players during his first season in charge.

"The right thing to do now is to give my injury sufficient time to heal 100%," Smith told the Volksblad newspaper.

Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske labelled Smith's absence from their campaign as a "huge setback". The Free State franchise are currently fourth in Super Rugby's South African conference, two points clear of the Lions.

"Juan is the best No.7 [blindside] flank in world rugby. He was also our captain over the last few years and to lose him is a huge setback," he said. "It will be really difficult to replace a world class player like him."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices