VIDEO: Bulls prop talks about being part of that big scrum
VIDEO: Bulls prop Mornay Smith hasn’t been in action for months but when his team needed him to step up, he did not disappoint against top-of-the-log leaders Leinster at Loftus on Saturday.
The 27-year-old prop last featured in the Champions Cup clash against Castres on January 11, but with Springbok prop Wilco Louw in top form, he had to wait his turn.
This came on Saturday as he entered the fray when he replaced Louw in the 52nd minute.
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The clock was winding down and the Bulls were trailing 18-20.
The scrum, called in the 79th minute, was the Bulls’ last opportunity to grab victory. The pack did not disappoint.
On Tuesday Smith explained to Rugby365 what went down in those moments when replacement front row Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Akker van der Merwe, and himself produced the scrum of their lives to win a penalty.
“Grobbies had just left the field and Akker [van der Merwe] came back on,” Smith recalled on Tuesday.
“The scrum was reset three or four times, and we told each other to keep building, keep going, keep composed, even if the scrum was going down.
“We stuck to our guns and it came off.
“I was privileged to be on the field then and to be part of that moment,” he reflected.
“I had the whole pack with me, so hats off to them. Without them, and Jan-Hendrik on the other side and Akker next to me, there aren’t moments like this.”
Asked by Rugby365 how a prop feels after such a massive win in the scrum and having to rely on the kicker to win the game for his team, Smith said he never had any doubts that David Kriel would make it happen.
“I just moved a bit away from David to see a bit more clearly.
“But he came through with his BMT (big match temperament).
“He’s done it before, he did it against Benetton and he did it again.
“He is always out there kicking, even if he is not kicking this weekend.
“We have a lot of confidence in David. I had no doubt that he was going to kick it over. I wasn’t even nervous.
“Even before the ball went through the poles, my arms were up. I knew he had slotted that one.”
