Kwagga Smith leaves Shizuoka Blue Revs by mutual consent

Shizuoka Blue Revs captain Kwagga Smith has left the club by mutual consent in order to pave the way for the two-time World Cup winner to return to South Africa.

The 33-year-old, who is currently recovering from surgery on his left knee, asked the club for his release and the Yamaha-operated club today announced that they have terminated his contact.

© JRLO

Smith joined Shizuoka (then Yamaha Júbilo) in 2018 and, after 78 appearances, has established himself as as a club legend and one of the best players in Japan’s star-studded League One competition (known as Top League until 2022).

The former Blitzboks standout was named in the Top League team of the season on two occasions and three times in the League One era in addition to winning the Player of the Season award in 2023.

Loose forward Smith has been linked with a move to the Bulls after head coach Johan Ackermann, who previously coached Urayasu D-Rocks, confirmed his interest in the Springboks star.

A Shizuoka club statement said: "He has always been a leader and role model for the team.

“Kwagga Smith is an important figure who has built the club's history and is a true representative of the league. We express our utmost respect and gratitude for his achievements to date and sincerely wish him continued success in the future.”

Smith’s admirer Ackermann, who was replaced at Urayasu by Greig Laidlaw in 2024 despite leading the Chiba-based team to promotion, confirmed that negotiations were underway in September for both the former and Kubota Spears hooker Malcolm Marx.

“There are still negotiations going on,” Ackermann said in September.

“Their names are on our table and we’ll look at them but it’s not finished yet, and it’s still a bit of a long way to go.”

Smith’s decision to abruptly end his time in Japan follows his international colleague Cheslin Kolbe’s early departure from Suntory Sungoliath to rejoin big-spending URC side the Stormers in the summer.

The sought-after 63-cap Bok produced a try-scoring display in his last game for Shizuoka as they beat Jesse Kriel and Faf de Klerk's Yokohama Canon Eagles 42-15 to end their season on a positive note on 9 May.

Stay tuned to RugbyJP.com for on-site coverage of the 2026-2027 League One season