Rugby: Lions gave us perfect preparation - Smit

CENTURION - The Springboks have had a perfect springboard into rugby's Tri-Nations, says their confident captain John Smit.

Hooker-turned-prop Smit believed last month's tour by the British and Irish Lions meant his side have undergone their best preparation for the annual southern hemisphere slugfest which they have won just twice in 13 tournaments - in 1998 and 2004.

"We haven't won the Tri-Nations trophy for a while. I think we have chosen a strong team that is good enough to compete properly this year," Smit told journalists.

"The three tough tests against the Lions have ensured that our preparations this year have been the best yet for the Tri-Nations."

Although the Springboks struggled to put the Lions away with the ease many anticipated, their 2-1 win reaffirmed the potency of their forward pack, with Smit having made a smooth transition to tighthead prop. It also highlighted chinks which may not have been apparent heading into the Tri-Nations.

He said the June tests often lack substance for the Sanzar countries, who host weakened, disinterested sides from Europe.

"We know it's time to shift focus and that (Lions) preparation gives us confidence. Those 10 days we had to rest and unwind after the series were also valuable to us. However, we've worked hard in the last couple of days, especially on our accuracy in training."

Smit said while the All Blacks must undergo a quick recovery process from travel, their gutsy 22-16 defeat of the Wallabies last weekend would have provided a boost.

After the All Blacks' whitewash of the Lions in 2005, they went on to claim the Tri-Nations.

However, Smit was wary of talking up his side's title aspirations, even though they have been installed as competition favourites.

"It is dangerous to talk about our chances before we've even played our first game. We've got a strong squad, our standards are high, our goals are high, but we can't get too far ahead of ourselves."

Meanwhile, SA Rugby is still scratching its head about slow ticket sales for the test. The number of seats sold had crept up today to more than half of Vodacom Park's 48,000 capacity.

Acting managing director Andy Marinos said ticket prices had barely risen in recent years so was investigating other reasons for an apparent lack of interest in the test between the world champion Springboks and world No 1 ranked All Blacks.

He said some groups with contractual rights to tickets for the Tri-Nations had not taken up their options.

"It can't be the event - we have one of the most decorated Springbok teams of all time that has just added a Lions series to a Rugby World Cup title and is very much at full strength with the potential to win the Tri-Nations.," Marinos said.

"Price may well be a factor in these hard times but the fact that people are not taking up the option of paid for tickets would suggest we're seeing something else as well."

The Tri-Nations comes in the middle of a South African sporting year which has also seen other major sporting attractions such as the Lions tour, a home cricket series against Australia, the Indian Premier League and soccer's Confederations Cup.

"We have experienced an exceptional sporting year all of it crammed into the period before the start of the Tri-Nations and what might be called `event-fatigue' may come into it," Marinos said.

- NZPA