A game does not end when the final whistle blows. Its impact
reverberates throughout a community when the stadiums are empty. Former rugby
captain John Smit, in his role as CEO of a security company, has ensured that
the tournaments are alive and kicking.



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As captain of the World Cup-winning Springboks in 2007, John
Smit was, “Mr Right Place, Right Time”. He was the centerpiece that connected
management to the players and the players to the fans. 



His talents have evolved into the commercial sphere, where
he now sits and curates a partnership that could save rugby and have a much
more meaningful impact on the communities whose lives revolve around club
rugby.



Security and maintenance company SSG Group – for which Smit
is acting CEO – were, in March, named co-sponsors for the Gold Cup, a rugby
tournament steeped in the blood and sweat of community involvement. 



“A lot of our clientele are the mines in the North West and Limpopo area,” Smit says.



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“Those communities are massively passionate about the game
and we wanted to show that this company not only wanted to leave a footprint
within the community using SMEs but also, we wanted to help keep a tournament
alive that is quite important to a lot of them. 



“It was really just to show our gratitude for the community
that we were allowed to work within. I met the Rustenburg Impala Rugby Club
guys a few weeks ago and rugby is really important around that mining area. 



“It’s a massive part of their culture and their working
environment. When this thing happened, Jorge Ferreira (SSG Group CEO) called me
to get my thoughts on what this sponsorship would entail. I said to him it’s an
unbelievable partnership because everyone wants to go straight to the top but
this is where the real rugby starts and ends.”



Fans pack the creaky stands, making a ruckus and cheering
uninhibitedly for their sons, fathers and uncles as they put their bodies
through the dirt for the sheer pleasure of it. 



In most communities where club rugby is played, it’s the only
recreational outlet with the gravitas that pulls 12,000 people to a game, like
last year’s Pirates Grand Challenge Final between Villagers Worcester and Roses
United in Worcester last year.



Put into perspective, 14,000 people watched the Stormers
play the Lions at Newlands in February. Goliath-eque franchise budgets were
brought to size by passionate, ordinary folk. 



“There was a guy that came to one of the games on horseback. There were so many people at the game that he could not see, so he watched the game on his horse to get a view,” Smit says.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">You can only get that at Gold Cup games. It’s something magically unique. These people play for free, they play for the community and they play for each other. </blockquote>



“The games are well-supported because the communities have a
vested interest in the game – their husbands, uncles, brothers, friends,
cousins, employees or employers are participating in them. Everyone comes.”



The Gold Cup portfolio landed on Smit’s desk by chance. One
might say there was some alchemy involved. Ferriera’s untimely death, last
year, meant Smit was redeployed from shareholding company Richmark Holdings to
hold the SSG fort.



When he got to Ferreira’s seat, he saw the founder’s plans
for the partnership with SA Rugby were complete. The baby was in the right
hands. Smit wasted precious little time and stamped the deal. 



In a time of austerity, load-shedding and budget cuts, Smit
saw the forest for the trees. 



“I can’t take credit for that because it was the brainchild
of our previous CEO,” he says. 



“I am delighted that I am a part of this and that things
have worked out in such a way that made it possible. This was pioneered by
Jorge Ferreira and supported by two other companies (Blu Approved and M4Jam)
who made it possible. 



“The unique positioning, the timing of my transition into SSG, I don’t think there would have been anyone else who understood what the Gold Cup means to this country and the communities that hold it dear. 



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“It’s hard to quantify that commercially because it is more
of an emotive vibe. These communities have passionate people who stick with the
game after school. They are the backbone because they are not playing for
money.”



Indeed, if it isn’t a man atop his steed looking for a
glimpse of the action, it’s a “tannie” (older woman) selling boerewors rolls on
the grass bank. It’s kids running freely along the touchline, collecting balls
that have been kicked too long and returning them to their hometown heroes. 



It’s a second and third chance at the game for players who’ve been hooved by professional rugby’s cut-throat contracting system – such as MB Lusaseni, College Rovers captain and former Lions lock. It’s a combination of all these factors that make a mineworker spend his or her free time in the hot sun, absorbing the Gold Cup.



-Sibusiso Mjikeliso

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John Smit leaves everything on the field

After 15 years at play Bryan Habana, the man who was once compared to a panther, discusses the end of his run on the field as he gives business a shot



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Sitting at the SLOW Lounge in Sandton, Africa’s richest square mile, sleeves rolled halfway up his arm, Springbok and World Cup-winner Bryan Habana looks a lot less like the menacing right winger with an insatiable appetite for tries and more like the entrepreneur he has now become. 



The change was sudden. One day, he was recovering from
injury and plotting a new season with his French club Toulon, the next he was
walking into the Toulouse Business School getting his first badge in Business
Studies. 



“The decision to call an end to your sporting days is
probably the most feared in a professional athlete’s life,” Habana says. 



“You don’t really know what you’re going to be jumping into,
even though they talk about preparing yourself for life after professional
sport. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">The transition is the most talked-about topic in sport because it’s so huge. When you’ve been doing something you love for five, 10, 15 years, you almost need to rediscover yourself once it’s done. <cite> Bryan Habana </cite></blockquote>



“But I’ve kept myself busy – even though I thought I would
give myself time to reflect on the past 15 years, which hasn’t happened yet.”



In the post-training, post-gym routine that retired players
find themselves, former professionals can often get stuck trying to find their
next move. It’s an often depressing realization and a lonely time, filled with
much angst and doubt.



Not for Habana. With much of the same finesse he weaved past seemingly closed spaces on the rugby field, he called marketing guru Mike Sharman after calling it a day and the pair, alongside Ben Karpinski, came up with sports marketing agency Retroactive. 



“I had a chat with Mike Sharman – whom I’ve known since high
school at King Edward VII School – when I announced my retirement last year and
came up with the idea of creating something fresh and authentic within the
digital sports marketing environment,” Habana says. 



“Through Retroviral, Mike had been in the agency space for
more than 10 years. He is not about being the biggest but just being the best
at what you can do. Ben’s been in a similar space from a sporting fan point of
view and he knows sport – not just one type but the heartbeat of it. Shaka
Sisulu [Retroviral chairman] comes with a wealth of enterprise experience,
which we all needed. 



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Swapping togs, kitbags and sweatpants for bespoke suits,
ties and matching pocket squares was always going to make for an awkward
transition for one of the most celebrated Springboks of all time.



In rugby numbers, Habana has clocked 124 test caps and a
record 67 tries for South Africa, not to mention the World Cup, Tri-Nations,
Super Rugby, European Championship and Currie Cup medals that dangle from his
neck. 



In his post-rugby career, his numbers were dialled back to
zero – his factory settings restored. 



However, his relationships garnered through rugby have come
in as invaluable human relations capital.



Seeing him give a talk at the Mining Indaba in February,
you’d think he’s been an entrepreneur for years. Doors that he didn’t know
existed have opened and his shoes are tap dancing into rooms that rugby boots
cannot take you. 



Already, the company can count Jawitz Properties, Cricket SA
and Biogen among the clients they create storyfied, authentic digital marketing
content for.



Habana says: “I am fortunate as well that, throughout my
rugby career, I was able to create a brand for myself and work with some of the
biggest brands in the world… Through these partnerships, I’ve been able to see
how the other side works. 



“Given my wide network, it made sense that I come into a
role where I could engage with potential clients. Hopefully, I won’t get seen
as Bryan Habana: P.A. to Mike Sharman. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Yes, it’s difficult and you definitely don’t earn your playing salary but I am fortunate to have opportunities leading up to the World Cup. The synergy is very good and there is definitely something special brewing.<cite> Bryan Habana </cite></blockquote>



Habana joins a growing list of ex-professionals who have
veered away from the predictable coaching route – something he describes as
more difficult than being a player. 



Patrick Lambie, who retired recently, also ruled out the
possibility of getting into coaching and is likely to join his father, Ian, and
former teammate Guy Cronjé’s business partnership. 



Other teammates such as Bakkies Botha (game farming) and
John Smit (former Sharks CEO) have provided Habana with a good sounding board
in this dark new world he has entered.



“There’s not a support group or a WhatsApp group where we
all log on and discuss these things but I definitely chat to John, Jean [de
Villiers] and Bakkies, who have entered this space. 



“And of course, my wife [Janine Viljoen], who ran her own
business in Cape Town, provides good support.”



Perhaps, the grass actually is greener on the other side.



&#8211; Sibusiso Mjikeliso

Tag: John Smit

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John Smit leaves everything on the field

Bryan Habana Swaps Sweatpants For Suits