WATCH: John Smit BATTERED in a BRUTAL old school brawl

Adam Kyriacou

A young John Smit was the victim of a brutal attack in an U21 game as he was surrounded by Lions players in a horrible moment for the Natal player.

Smit, who went on to become a Springbok legend and lifted the Rugby World Cup in 2007, found himself in an unfortunate position in this full-blooded match.

Tempers boiled over in the meeting at Durban’s Kings Park, and the young Smit was caught in the middle of flying fists after he came in to help a team-mate.

A full-on U21 brawl

That was just a small part of the dust-up as the Natal and Lions youngsters continued to trade blows, with one player also using his boot to strike an opponent.

Pushing, shoving and punching continued thereafter but then came a bizarre moment as one Natal non-playing reserve, Frikkie Welsh, also entered the field.

The player, who went on to represent the Blue Bulls, Western Province and later Bath in England before returning to the Bulls, would land a vicious left hook.

For Smit, this was during the early stages of a career that saw him wear the tighthead jersey before he later switched to hooker and became a household name.

The Springbok great, who played in all three front-row positions during his professional career, made his South Africa debut in 2000 against Canada, aged 22.

He would go on to earn 111 caps until his Test retirement after the 2011 World Cup, with his finest moment coming in 2007 when he lifted the Webb Ellis trophy.

Physical 2009 series

A close second would obviously have been skippering the Springboks to glory against the British & Irish Lions in 2009 in what was a hugely physical series.

Following the World Cup in 2011, Smit signed for Premiership giants Saracens for whom he played for until he hung up his boots once and for all in 2013.

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