South Africa captain John Smit to miss tour

The South African Rugby Union said Smit, 32, had a procedure to repair a chronic cervical disc yesterday. SARU says the Springboks skipper will be sidelined for three months.

South Africa team doctor Craig Roberts says "the timing was right" for Smit to have the operation ahead of the 2011 Super Rugby season and the World Cup later next year.

It rules Smit out of South Africa's matches against Ireland (6 November), Wales (13 November), Scotland (20 November) and England (27 November).

Meanwhile, Australia may have lost ten straight matches to New Zealand to break a 63-year record, but captain Rocky Elsom still believes the All Blacks can be beaten in their final Bledisloe Cup game of the season next month.

New Zealand have already retained the Bledisloe Cup and clinched the Tri Nations with a perfect 6-0 record, including a 23-22 win over Australia on 11 September that surpassed their then-record nine straight victories over the Wallabies between 1936 and 1947.

Elsom said the All Blacks' ability to close out tight matches has given them the edge in the rivalry.

"We definitely can win - it's obvious we've improved over the length of the tournament," Elsom said. "We're No 2 in the world and New Zealand is No 1. The main reason is that they've been able to get away with the tight matches against us and against everyone else, really."