| Full name | Gert Petrus Smal | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 December 1961 | ||
| Place of birth | Kimberley, South Africa | ||
| Height | 6'5" | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Current status | |||
| Position(s) | Forwards Coach | ||
| current team | Ireland | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Flanker | ||
| Professional / senior clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1980-1983 1984-1985 1986-1990 |
Western Transvaal Stellenbosch University Rugby Rovigo |
||
| Provincial/State sides | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1984-1993 | Western Province | ||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1984 1986 1986-1987 1986-1989 |
SA Gazelles Junior Springboks SA Defence Force South Africa |
6 |
(4) |
| correct as of 1 December 2009. | |||
| Coaching career | |||
| Years | Club / team | ||
| 2008-present 2004-2007 2003-2005 2000-2002 1998-1999 1986-1990 |
Ireland South Africa Stormers Western Province Border Bulldogs Rugby Rovigo |
||
| correct as of 1 December 2009. | |||
Gert Petrus Smal (born December 27, 1961, Kimberley, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player and the current forwards coach of the Irish national team.
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Gert Smal was a flanker with Western Transvaal from 1980-1983 then played with Stellenbosch University from 1984 to 1985. Between 1986 and 1990 he was a member of the Rovigo club in Italy, as player-assistant coach.[1]
Smal had a limited international playing career due to the international boycott of South African sports teams because of the apartheid regime which ended in 1992. He captained South African Gazelles (U24 side) in 1984. He turned out for the Springboks against the touring New Zealand Cavaliers in 1986, against a World Invitation XV in 1989 and a Serge Blanco World XV team against France.[2]
He also represented Western Province between 1984 and 1993 and the South African Defence Forces in 1986 and 1987.
On the Australasian tour with Western Province in 1993, during a match against Queensland, Smal received a blow in the mouth causing him to lose vision in the bottom corner of his left eye forcing his retirement from playing.[3]
Following the end of his playing career, he was appointed to a number of key coaching positions in South Africa and held coaching positions at the Border Bulldogs (1998–1999), Western Province (2000–2002) when they twice won the Currie Cup and then with the Stormers in the Super 12 between 2003 and 2005, reaching the semi-finals in 2004.[3]
In 2004, Smal was appointed to the South African team management as assistant coach to Jake White, during which time the Springboks won the Tri-Nations championship in 2004 before winning the 2007 Rugby World Cup. When Jake White was replaced by Peter de Villiers as head coach following the world cup in 2007, Smal offered to develop rugby in the Eastern Cape but was turned down by the South African Rugby Union [3]
In June 2008, Smal was appointed forward coach to the Irish National team under Declan Kidney.[4] During Smal's time at Ireland, they won the 2009 Six Nations completing the Grand Slam for the first time in 61 years. His assistance was key in Ireland's victory over the 2007 World Champions and Tri Nations 2009 champions South Africa during the 2009 Autumn Internationals where he taught the Irish pack some Afrikaans so that they could read the opposition's line out calls.[5][6]
He is married to Patti and they have two children, a son Dean who attends Blackrock College and plays rugby at lock forward, and daughter Tamarin. They currently live in Dublin, near Lansdowne Road.[3]