British and Irish Lions

The former Clermont Auvergne hooker has been out of action since suffering a groin injury in the opening Tri Nations encounter against New Zealand on July 5 but has now been declared fit to play Currie Cup rugby for the Sharks on Saturday.

It had initially been feared that Smit may have been in danger of missing the Boks' November tour of the UK but those fears now appeared to have been allayed.

Smit has not played Currie Cup rugby since 2005 and his return from France in order to prepare fully for next year's Lions tour has been met with great anticipation in his home country.

Assistant coach Graham Rowntree says The British & Irish Lions will have to be fully focussed to avoid a potential banana skin when they face The Barbarians a week today.

Three former British & Irish Lions will line-up against an England XV at Twickenham Stadium on Sunday as the Barbarians warm-up for their showdown with the 2013 tourists in Hong Kong next week.

Lions skipper Sam Warburton says the lessons he and his Welsh colleagues learnt in Australia last summer will stand them in good stead for their return visit with Britain and Ireland's elite next month.