THE FIRESTARTER
HE STARTED HIS TEST CAREER WITH NO SELF BELIEF. NOW BEN SMITH IS ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD AND THE MAN WHO SO OFTEN IGNITES THE ALL BLACKS’ ATTACK. GREGOR PAUL WITH THE STORY.
It was mid-way through 2009 that the name Ben Smith surfaced within the selection meetings of the All Blacks coaches. They were having a cussed time that year trying to find outside backs who were equipped to thrive in the new style of rugby, which was being dominated by kicking.
In what felt like a ludicrously short space of time, test football went from a ball-in-hand game, to one where teams were booting it to the heavens and chasing after it. Strangely, the All Blacks were slow to realise what was happening and they were exposed as having skill deficiencies in their back three options.
They had finishing wings, powerful men such as Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu who were brilliant at exploiting space, but not so good at dealing with high balls.
By the time the All Blacks had lost for a third consecutive time to South Africa, the coaches had a new template in mind for outside backs – particularly wings. They wanted players with aerial skills.
They wanted wings, who were essentially just as comfortable at fullback... hence Smith coming into their discussions. He had made his debut for the Highlanders that year and was on fire for Otago – switching between fullback and wing with no difficulties.
His strength was his work under the high ball and the All Blacks coaches reckoned that him and Zac Guildford were exactly the sort of players they needed on the wing to succeed in the environment of that time.
Both toured that year, with Guildford making his debut against Wales and Smith a week later in Milan against Italy. For the next test against England at Twickenham, the selectors had a tough choice to make: would it be Guildford or Smith on the right wing?
“It was touch and go between the two,” recalls All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, “and Zac just had that little bit more confidence and self-belief than Bender [Smith] and as a result he [Smith] missed out. It turned out to be a false dawn for Zac really because he just didn’t deal with the issues he had and I guess we didn’t know the full extent of what he was dealing with.”
It turned out to be something of a false dawn for Smith as well. He fell away in 2010 and, to many, it felt like he may become a one-cap wonder: a dreaded trivia question about who was the All Black who managed one game against Italy in 2009 and was never seen again.
He was spared that fate when he was called up to play Fiji in 2011. He’d had a good campaign with the Highlanders and when injuries struck others, the All Blacks turned to Smith. He was given 30 minutes but the coaches were unmoved. What they saw was a player with all the potential in the world, but lacking in the confidence to back himself on the biggest stage.
Smith doesn’t disagree. Despite the fact he was wearing an All Blacks jersey, he could never quite convince himself he deserved to be. “When I debuted I remember being young and thinking I didn’t deserve to be there,” says Smith.
“Looking back if I could take my wiser head into my younger body... at the time I was probably concentrating on a lot of things that were external to the team. If I could go back I would back my ability a bit more and know that at the time I had been picked to do a job and that the coaches had full trust in me.
“They said that but at the time I could have backed myself a bit more. If you trust your instincts you tend to go better and you can contribute to the team and that’s all you want to do. I probably didn’t back my skills.
“Test rugby you have to get out there and trust that you have done everything right in the preparation. And don’t be cluttered. Just play what you see and what you know. Early on in my career, I didn’t do that.”
I could have backed myself a bit more. If you trust your instincts you tend to go better and you can contribute to the team and that’s all you want to do. I probably didn’t back my skills.’ BEN SMITH
Smith can’t say if there was a turning point as such. He can’t say that there was a moment when everything suddenly clicked and the nervousness dissipated and he was miraculously full of confidence. It didn’t happen like that at all. What did happen is that in 2012 he began to think about leaving New Zealand. He was in demand offshore and the money was tempting – seriously tempting – and to some extent he could say he’d given New Zealand a decent crack and just wasn’t good enough to become a regular All Black.
That wasn’t a thought process new All Blacks coach Hansen liked. Nothing he’d seen in his previous role as assistant coach had dampened his enthusiasm for Smith’s potential. If anything, the 2011 and 2012 Super Rugby seasons had only confirmed Smith’s stunning talent.
With the Highlanders, Smith could do no wrong. At that level he backed himself and the results were usually extraordinary.
He could beat defenders with ease. He struck the right balance between adventure and conservatism, and his aerial work was immaculate. He could score tries and create them: he could maraud in the backfield and pick the right places to pop up and the basics of pass, catch and kick were all as good as they needed to be.
But... “he really didn’t believe in himself,” says Hansen about Smith in 2012. “He was thinking about leaving, playing offshore, and so I remember having a conversation with him in Dunedin, telling him how good he could be if he stayed. I told him if he left, he’d never know how good he could have been.
“Both myself and Foz [assistant coach Ian Foster] talked to him a lot about what he could achieve and I can remember also having conversations with the New Zealand Rugby Union about Ben – telling them the same thing. I felt that he could be a world class player, really special and be part of World Cups, play against the Lions and even go to the Olympics.”
The message wasn’t new. Smith had heard these same encouraging words before. The question was whether he would finally believe what he was being told and play test football with that same conviction.
There were signs in 2012 that he was beginning to understand how good he could be. He was regularly on the bench and made an impression when he came on.
The career-changing moment came the following year, however, when Cory Jane was ruled out with a serious knee injury and Smith took over the No 14 jersey. From the first test of the year against France he was, frankly, brilliant. He took his Highlanders form to the test arena and was unstoppable.
He would find space out of nothing. He’d come off his wing and blast through the midfield. He’d chase and win high balls.
He’d finish in tight spaces and each test he’d show himself to be a total footballer. He could do it all. There was so much to love about his game and New Zealand had a new star. The All Blacks had another outrageously good talent and to prove it, Smith was shortlisted as a World Rugby player of the year.
“I got another chance in 2012 to get a few opportunities off the bench and I started to think then that I could add to what the team wanted to do,” recalls Smith of his transition to regular All Black. “But I had to keep chipping away and hoping that I would eventually manage to get a start. I have really enjoyed being able to add to the team.
“I think with anything you want to be confident in what you can do and what you can achieve and as my rugby has gone on, I have learned exactly where my strengths and weaknesses are and have tried to work on both.”
Both myself and Foz [assistant coach Ian Foster] talked to him a lot... I felt that he could be a world class player, really special and be part of World Cups, play against the Lions and even go to the Olympics.’ STEVE HANSEN
Much like his namesake Conrad, Smith is something of a poster boy for being patient. He could have gone offshore in 2013 and never written himself into New Zealand rugby history the way he has.
He could have gone and no one would ever have known how good a player he truly is. And he is good. He is special – a player who can already stand comparison with the likes of Christian Cullen and John Gallagher.
How many great tests has Smith played? Too many to recall. How many mistakes has he made? Hardly any – maybe even just the one memorable error when he was yellow-carded in the World Cup final.
His contribution since 2013 has been remarkable. He has won 60 caps and scored 27 tries. That’s only half the story, though. He’s been the All Blacks’ firestarter on so many occasions – the man who has sparked them into attacking life.
He has been the best performer in almost every test he has played and in Dunedin 2014, against England, he delivered one of the great performances of the age.
It was the first time he’d been picked at fullback and he was sensational on his home turf. There was one play, on the cusp of halftime, when he chased down an escaping Manu Tuilagi, won the turnover and set up a fresh attack which landed the All Blacks a penalty. In those seconds when Tuilagi was charging towards the line, the All Blacks were looking like going 17-3 down. Thanks to Smith, they reached the break just four points behind.
The firestarter had not only saved the day, his actions inspired his teammates to come out after the break and rip England apart in the next 20 minutes.
If there is one other incredible moment that defines the magic of Smith, it was the way he charged up Millennium Stadium in the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal against France. It seemed futile that he was chasing a kick so hard when Louis Picamoles was underneath it. But Smith, somehow, leapt in front of the French No 8 and stole the ball. It was impossible, but he did it and the All Blacks swept the ball left, scored in the corner and with that, sunk the French.
In one play, Smith encapsulated all that he’s about and all that he has become. It was the moment, perhaps, when he, and everyone else, knew that he was without doubt a world class phenomenon. He had become the player Hansen said he could be and the decision to turn down the chance to go overseas was vindicated.
“I don’t regret that decision,” he says matter of factly. “Two years ago with the Highlanders and the All Blacks was one of those years – that is why we play the game. Overseas will always be there and I’ll check that out later.”
When he says later, he now means not until at least 2020. Smith, despite being offered an enormous contract by French club Pau, signed a four-year extension with the New Zealand Rugby Union in February.
It was a huge moment for the national body. They had been worried they were going to lose Smith. He’d been talked into staying in 2012, but would he feel, having won more than 50 test caps and a World Cup, that he had anything left to prove?
Was his story in the All Blacks finished and, having proven he could play at the highest level, would he now take that money he had turned down previously?
The answer was no. He didn’t feel his story was finished. Not even close. Smith wants to see if he can find a higher level again. If that seems unlikely given he’s now 31, don’t believe it.
Look at the way Richie McCaw got better in his last few years. Same too with Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith. These days, players are able to keep themselves in supreme physical shape well into their thirties and be physically capable of taking advantage of all the experience and mental skills they have developed.
The All Blacks certainly believe, as they always have, that Smith has got more to come and that’s why they made him vice-captain in 2016. It’s a job he relishes and one that he feels will interest him for years to come.
“It is something that I continue to work on and I am keen to learn and find ways that I could be better,” he says. “The opportunity [to captain] with the Highlanders has helped me learn a lot and I think the only way you can get better is to be in tough situations and see how you react. You learn from those and that makes you better for the next experience.
“At the Highlanders I have enjoyed being able to see quite a lot from fullback. I play best when I am calm and controlled.”
Smith’s teammates also believe he has more to give because just weeks after he extended his contract, fellow outside back Israel Dagg, who was also being courted by overseas clubs, signed to stay on until 2019.
Dagg made a point of saying that knowing Smith was in for the long haul, made it easier for him to do the same. Dagg and Smith have formed a potent combination over the years – one that has seen them swap between fullback and right wing – and are expected to be paired again when the Lions arrive in June.
And it’s simple to see why Smith has become an inspiring figure. It’s simple to understand the value he brings and the contribution he makes and almost impossible to believe that five years ago he had next to no faith in what he could do.
“He’s recognised by everyone now as a world class player,” says Hansen. “He’s definitely a great story for perseverance. He didn’t play any age-grade rugby and you can see why they call him the Green Island battler. As he’s got more comfortable he has just got better and better.”
He’s definitely a great story for perseverance. He didn’t play any agegrade rugby and you can see why they call him the Green Island battler. As he’s got more comfortable he has just got better and better.’ STEVE HANSEN