Interview: “I can’t wait to see a full crowd and have them behind us” - Aaron Smith

On December 4th, the 35-year-old All Blacks veteran, Aaron Smith, joined Pieter-Steph du Toit and Beauden Barrett for his first full training day with Toyota Verblitz.

- On his first training session at the new club...

“It’s been amazing to come from New Zealand and have amazing facilities, gym and locker. The whole facility is just world class and I’ve really enjoyed the first training and my first weekend.”

- Was this your first proper training session since the RWC2023 finals week?

“No, I trained very hard in New Zealand for the 28 days I had and refreshed mentally, but I was training every day to make sure I’m tuned up in good shape for Toyota Verblitz.”

- What’s it like to have Pieter as your new teammate?

“It’s been great. Even today, throwing a couple of passes to Pieter and getting to know him. We watched the game together the other day, with me, Pieter, and Beaudy just to talk about non-rugby stuff about where we’re both from, our families, and our past, and it’s nice. He’s an awesome player, so I can’t wait to play with him hopefully next weekend.”

- What’s your focus point for Round 1, considering that it’s a short turnaround since joining the team?

“I’m just trying to learn all the structures, plans, and my teammates’ names. I just want to make sure that I know my role, and just want to go out there and do my best and do my role for the team.”

- All the tickets have been sold out for round 1…

“That’s very cool and I’m very excited to see everyone there and hopefully, we put a performance out they’d be proud of. But, even the energy, love, and support we felt last weekend in our last preseason game was amazing. I can’t wait to see a full crowd and have them behind us.”