Duwayne Smart

Duwayne Enslin Smart (born (1987-08-08)8 August 1987 in George, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with the Boland Cavaliers.^[1] His regular position is on the wing.

Career

Youth

As a native of George, Smart represented his local provincial side, the SWD Eagles at youth level, playing for their Under-19 side in the 2005 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He spent 2006 in Welkom, representing the Griffons U21s in the 2006 Under-21 Provincial Championship before returning to George for the 2007 Under-21 Provincial Championship.

SWD Eagles

He made his first class debut for the SWD Eagles during the 2008 Vodacom Cup competition; he started their home match against the Blue Bulls in the opening round of the competition and helped them to a 33–27 victory.^[2] Despite playing off the bench in their next match, he opened the scoring for the SWD Eagles in their 20–58 defeat to defending champions Griquas.^[3] He also started in their loss to the Golden Lions in Johannesburg^[4] before scoring his second senior try in a 26–27 defeat to the Falcons in Uniondale.^[5] He played against the Leopards in Rustenburg^[6] before scoring two tries in their 50–12 victory over the Pumas in their final match of the campaign^[7] to finish with a tally of four tries to make him SWD Eagles' top try scorer for the campaign.^[8] However, it wasn't enough to help his side into the quarter finals, finishing in fifth spot in the Southern Section of the competition.

He was also involved in their Currie Cup campaign; he made his debut in the Currie Cup competition in their 2009 Currie Cup First Division match against the Griffons in a 31–34 defeat.^[9] He played in their match against the Leopards in Potchefstroom,^[10] as well as the return fixture in George, where he scored his first try in the Currie Cup competition in a 35–34 victory.^[11]

Pumas

In 2009, Smart made the move to Witbank-based outfit the Pumas.^[12] He made two appearances for them in the 2009 Vodacom Cup – he came on as a replacement in their match against the Leopards in their first match in the competition^[13] and started their final match against the Blue Bulls, scoring a try for them in a 24–37 defeat.^[14] He made three appearances for the Pumas during the 2009 Currie Cup First Division; he came on as a late replacement in their matches against the Border Bulldogs in East London^[15] and former side SWD Eagles^[16] and started their final match of the season against the Border Bulldogs in Witbank, scoring a try in a 43–26 win^[17] to help them finish top of the log. Despite Smart not being involved, the Pumas won their semi-final against the Mighty Elephants,^[18] as well as the final against the SWD Eagles to win their second First Division title.^[19] They also won a two-legged promotion play-off series against the Boland Cavaliers to win promotion to the Premier Division for 2010.^[20][21]

Smart made two appearances for the Pumas during the 2010 Currie Cup Premier Division – starting their 15–38 opening day defeat to the Blue Bulls^[22] as well as their 25–58 defeat to Griquas^[23] – as the Pumas finished seventh on the log. He was named in the Pumas squad for the 2011 Vodacom Cup competition, but didn't make any appearances.

Return to SWD Eagles

After making just seven appearances in two-and-a-half years at the Pumas, Smart returned to the SWD Eagles during the 2011 Currie Cup First Division. He scored a try for them on his return to the side, in a 45–53 defeat to the Falcons in Kempton Park^[24] and also played in their final match of the season against eventual champions the Boland Cavaliers,^[25] but could not help the SWD Eagles reach the semi-final play-offs.

Club rugby / SWD Eagles

Smart played club rugby for Progress in the SWD Premier League in 2012 and then moved to Pacaltsdorp-based side Evergreens^[26] that recently qualified for the first edition of the SARU Community Cup in 2013. He made three appearances for them during in Pool D of the round-robin stage of the competition, scoring a try for them in their match against Old Selbornians^[27] to help them qualify for the finals held in George. He featured in all three of their matches in the finals, but could not prevent them losing all three of their matches to finish eighth overall in the competition.

He earned another provincial call-up, however, being included in the SWD Eagles' squad for the 2014 Vodacom Cup. It proved to be a very prolific season for him; a late try in the SWD Eagles' 47–52 opening-day defeat to the Free State XV^[28] was followed by a brace in their match against Kenyan invitational side Simba XV in a 51–7 victory in Crawford^[29] and another brace in their next match, a 46–17 victory against the Boland Cavaliers in Swellendam.^[25] Smart's five tries – equal to team-mate Hentzwill Pedro's tally, but one behind Alshaun Bock's six in the competition – helped the SWD Eagles to qualify for the quarter finals of the competition, where they were eliminated by Griquas in Kimberley.^[30]

Boland Cavaliers

Smart made the move to rival Western Cape side the Boland Cavaliers prior to the 2014 Currie Cup qualification series,^[31] where a spot in the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division was up for grabs for the team that won the competition. He made his debut for his new side in their match against the Griffons in Welkom^[32] and after also playing against Griquas,^[33] he scored his first try for Boland Cavaliers eleven minutes into a 35–20 victory over the Falcons.^[34] They finished fifth to remain in the 2014 Currie Cup First Division and Smart made one appearance in that competition, a 19–27 defeat to eventual champions the Griffons.^[35]

References