Scrum hero Smith: Bulls must back it up against Zebre

Mornay Smith last played for the Bulls on January 10 before last weekend’s clash against Leinster.

The 27-year-old tighthead prop hasn’t had much game-time since the arrival of Wilco Louw in Pretoria, who has been a powerhouse in the scrums for Jake White’s team.

But Smith – who has been a regular starter in the No 3 jersey for a number of seasons – finally got his chance last Saturday, and came up with the big play that helped his team clinch a last-gasp victory.

Lining up for a final scrum where the Bulls needed to secure a penalty in for a match-winning goal-kick, Smith and his fellow front-rowers Akker van der Merwe and Jan-Hendrik Wessels shoved Leinster off their feed to earn the referee’s decision.

Centre David Kriel then stepped up to slot the three-pointer to claim a 21-20 triumph that saw the Bulls retain third spot on the United Rugby Championship log.

“I was very honoured to be on the field at that time, and to be able to participate in that situation,” Smith said this week ahead of this Saturday’s clash against Zebre at Loftus Versfeld (2.45pm kick-off).

“But without the whole pack with me, I wouldn’t have been able to do it, so hats off to them – the locks, flanks and number eight, and Jan-Hendrik and Akker next to me.

“Grobbies (Johan Grobbelaar) went off and Akker came on, and we told ourselves that we need to stay in the system and back the system, and not do anything strange – as we could still concede a penalty and get a penalty.

“So, we still went through our processes, and then it came off. We had resets three or four times, but we just kept our composure, and it came off in the end.

“I didn’t want to stand too close to David, but he came through with his BMT, and did it before against Benetton.

“David is always out there practising his kicks, so we have a lot of confidence in him, and I had no doubt that he would kick it over. Even before the ball went over, my arms were up already.”

Smith was grateful for the opportunity after last featuring for the Bulls in a Champions Cup game against Castres in France on January 10.

But he is not basking in the glory of that decisive scrum for too long, as he knows that Zebre won’t be pushovers after the Italian club lost just 35-34 to the Sharks in Durban last weekend.

“It does mean a lot to me. I was out of the system for a bit. I cleaned my neck out (with an operation) for a time as well,” he said.

“But I give it to him (Wilco Louw). He is a phenomenal rugby player and he is playing really good rugby.

“His set-piece is unbelievably good, so I understand why I’m not getting so much game-time at the moment.

“But I got the chance now, and it worked out that we got the penalty at the end. And with the pack with me, there was no doubt that we could get penalty.

“Our focus this week is on Zebre. We know what happened at the weekend, and we understand that it was a very good squad decision.

“But we had our Monday review and trained on Tuesday, and we are building for Zebre now. So, that’s in the past, and we need to back it up this weekend.

“There is a bit of hype around the forwards, but we must just continue growing and build on this, and not slip up this weekend.

“Zebre are coming with a good team, and there is an extra spring in our step. But that’s in the past now, and we want to build on this.”