Ben Smith: I’m really lucky
Highlanders fullback Ben Smith is counting his lucky stars after a fourth concussion in the past five years only sidelined him for two weeks.
While he now feels ‘‘very good’’ and has been cleared to play in his team’s crunch match against the Hurricanes in Wellington tonight, things weren’t so rosy in the aftermath of his latest head knock.
The 30-year-old was knocked out when he banged his head on the ground after contesting a high ball with Chiefs fullback Damian Mckenzie in Dunedin last month, before being helped from the field by medical staff.
‘‘I lost a wee bit of memory straight after it,’’ Smith said. ‘‘The next few days were a bit tough but it cleared up and came right.’’
Smith, who also missed two games during last season’s Super Rugby competition due to concussion, said the symptoms from his latest head knock were mostly fatigue.
‘‘I just felt really tired. So I had to make sure I was resting. It just needed a bit of time to clear and I’m just really lucky that that it did clear up.’’
In Smith’s absence, the Highlanders butchered a big lead in a home loss to the Crusaders, before notching their first win after digging in at Eden Park and pipping the Blues last Friday night.
Now, their inspirational leader and game-breaking fullback returns to play the defending champion Hurricanes in a rematch of the 2015 final, won by the Dunedinbased side.
Given it will be his first game since Mckenzie landed on him and his head bounced off the Forsyth Barr Stadium turf, it would be hard to blame Smith if he was anxious when discussing the first bomb a Hurricanes’ player sends his way.
However, Smith, one of the most reliable players in the world under the high ball, isn’t fussed.
‘‘I realise that’s just part of the game and there’s always going to be things that happen that don’t always go as planned,’’ Smith said.
While no cards were dished out after his collision with Mckenzie, the area of the game has been a hot topic through the first three weeks of the competition, particularly after fellow Highlander Malakai Fekitoa copped a yellow card against the Crusaders a fortnight ago.
Fekitoa collided with David Havili and was yellow carded because he was lower than the opposition player and was deemed not to have protected Havili in the air.
‘‘It just comes down to timing when the ball is in the air,’’ Smith said when asked about the challenges of legally going up and defusing high balls.
‘‘Whether you compete or not, that’s what teams are probably going to have to nail going forward in this competition.’’
With fellow co-captain Ash Dixon still out with a back injury, Smith will solely captain the Highlanders tonight.
Highlanders coach Tony Brown labelled the 2-1 Hurricanes as ‘‘probably the best New Zealand team’’ in the competition, and said the return of Smith would boost his side ahead of their fourth consecutive Kiwi derby.