South Africa coach Jake White has called on the Springboks to win their match against Wales on Saturday in Cardiff as a tribute to their World-Cup winning captain John Smit.

White told the Sunday Independent that, as a decision was still to be finalised as to whether Springboks playing in Europe would be eligible for national selection, he wanted this victory for his captain.

"I owe it to my captain to make this trip a memorable one," White said.

"This is probably his last Test overseas as I don't know if he'll be picked again, but I sincerely hope that he does. He's been awesome as a captain."

White also said that he saw no reason why the World champions should go into a slump, as many World-Cup winning teams have done in the past.

"There is absolutely no reason why the Boks should hit a downward spiral," he added.

"If you just look at all the players at our disposal and the talent coming through the future looks bright. But even in this squad, there are wonderful players who've won the World Cup.

"Many of them are young enough to be there in 2011 and the decisions the next coach and the administrators make in the next few months must be about 2011."

Sporting Life / Eurosport