In contrast to the magnum opus of Joost van der Westhuizen, John Smit’s rugby book, Captain in the Cauldron: The John Smit Story is not smutty. Yet a certain excerpt from the said book, written by Mike Greenaway, on the infamous Kamp Staaldraad does, in fact, reveal all. Here’s the Sunday Times‘ coverage of the book:
Captain in the Cauldron is more than a book about the world’s most capped captain, it’s a modern history of Springbok rugby through the eyes of a player who has been there from the bumbling years to the current world champion days.
It’s an account of how the game shaped the Rainbow Nation’s Captain Colossus before he returned the favour by doing his own shaping.
And here’s the book excerpt:
Before we set out, I got some advice from a mate of mine from Durban who was friendly with one of the instructors running the camp.
He said that one of the drills required you to bury an egg and cook it underground, underneath a fire, and urinate on the egg so that the moisture cooked it. He told me we would only get one match, so I should smuggle in a lighter, which I did, lodged in the inside of my cap.
After about two-and-a-half hours in the bus, we were nearing Warmbaths (now Bela-Bela) when we were told to put on blindfolds. About 20 minutes later the bus stopped, and we were told to take the blindfolds off and get off the bus. It was pitch black and we were in the middle of nowhere. Then the shouting started.
Book details
Photo courtesy the Sunday Times
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