Former Lion now coaches Germany

2020-06-04

In 2002 he was a nominee for Junior Lion of the Year together with Jorrie Muller, Rudi Coetzee and Bryan Habana.

Melvine Smith will be remembered for his superior speed and finishing, beating his opposition time and again on the outside.

We caught  up with Melvine to find out how life has been treating him, what he has been up to since retiring as a player and how he has experienced lockdown in Germany with his wife Yasmin, daughter Lily (9) and son Leo (6). 

When did you retire from rugby and which match stands out for you as a highlight?

I joined the Lions as an u19 player in 2000 and played for them at various levels until 2004 - and subsequently still played top-flight club rugby for Durbanville-Bellville RFC and False Bay RFC in the Western Cape until about 2009. At this stage I was already studying part time through UNISA and started concentrating more on studies and work so rugby started taking a back seat. I moved to Germany in 2011 with my wife and daughter. I played a few more years at club level but would say that I officially stopped playing around 2014-15. This was also when my coaching career really started kicking off.

When and where were you introduced to rugby?

I am from Scottsville, Kraaifontein in the Western Cape…so this is where my rugby journey started. I came from a house where my father and a very close cousin played football/soccer, so I played football until I was about 12 or so. It is only then when a friend of mine asked to join his church team (back then the Old Apostolic Churches used to play rugby and various other sports against each other) for a game or two, that I really started playing rugby. I was of course hooked on the game from that very first moment. I mean, of course I knew rugby and played touch rugby on the school pitches during breaks, but this was going to be my first real introduction to the contact part of the game.

Can you still remember your very first rugby match?

As mentioned above, my first game was in a “church” tournament and I can clearly remember it like it was yesterday. It was of course very confusing with all the rules etc but I remember it was in those first games that my friend and many other people told me that I would be very good in rugby. I scored a few tries, not because I was skilful or anything but mainly because I was so scared of being tackled, that I just outran the defence.

How has the lockdown been for you and who did you spend it with?

I live in Germany and because of the good measures that were taken early on by the government, we never really had a true lockdown like in SA. We were free to move, making sure to keep a distance of at least 2 meters. The worst was probably the first few weeks when one could only meet one other person outside of your household (and keep distance). But as said, that was probably the worst it got in Germany in terms of social interaction. Schools, workplaces and certain shops were limited or closed like everywhere else - but grocery stores were fully functioning.

Due to my current job I could easily work from home, which was great because it gave me loads of time with my wife and kids (Lilly 9 and Leo 6 years old). I used those days to play with the kids and work on some rugby skills 😊 since both my kids are playing rugby as well. We really kept to ourselves as a family during the semi “lockdown” and trusting the process.

What have you been up to since retiring from rugby?

As mentioned earlier, when I stopped playing rugby professionally, I started studying (in 2004) and playing for Durbanville Rugby Club where they gave me a great opportunity to do my internship as an auditing clerk. Life after that has been really focussed on getting my professional working career in place. I always played rugby on the side of course. I got married in 2008 and I moved to Germany in 2011 with my family (German wife). While we moved because of a good work opportunity for my wife (plus missing her family), I saw it as a great opportunity to connect with rugby again and started as a player coach at various clubs in Germany..

You coach rugby in Germany. Tell us more about that.

My coaching career really kicked off in 2014 when I started working with the German u18 and Ladies 7s National Teams (see below). Rugby is not that big in Germany in terms of earning a living, so I always just did it next to my normal day job (finance). I am currently coaching the German National 15s Men’s Team. I have been coaching rugby at various levels in Germany:

2012-2014 I coached club rugby in Germany

2014-2018 I coached the German u18 and Ladies National 7s Teams

2018-2019 I coached the German u18 National 15s Boys Team

I have been coaching the German National 15s Men’s Team since 2019.

I believe in playing an exciting brand of rugby, which is really how I tried to play myself - so my coaching philosophy is really tied in what that intrinsic drive to be exciting in all parts of the game. Because of the rugby environment in Germany being so different to SA, here in Germany you really have to motivate and tell great stories to get the buy in from the young players – so that has really been my drive as a coach, which is to help young players enjoy the game and play to their natural ability. As a young player, even though I was doing well and scoring tries, I unfortunately was still asked or told by some coaches to “stick” to the game plan, change my game to fit the game plan etc. So I vowed as a coach to make sure that I give the players the platform to believe in their skills and ability and trust themselves.

How do you think would it be for rugby players playing matches in empty stadium as we can expect to happen in the near future?

This will really be tough on the teams for sure. I mean, as a team you will have a goal for the season, which is to win the league, tournaments, etc., so going onto a field that should still be your mission as a team BUT for the individual player it will be tough since most of us feed off the emotions and buzz from the crowd. When you fall behind, you get pushed on by your supporters etc. So that dynamic will be lost. For the spectator: I guess most of us would just be happy to see some rugby for a change but there is now doubt that it would just not be the same and as enjoyable as before.

What do you miss about South Africa? Go to our social media pages to hear what Melvine had to say.

Author: Annemie Bester