Smith was concussed when flying high to try to secure a high ball half an hour into the match against the Chiefs at Forsyth Barr Stadium last night.
He crashed on his back on to the ground. After lying there for several minutes, he got up and gingerly left the field, not returning.Highlanders coach Tony Brown said Smith was concussed and though he would be assessed in the next few days, he was likely to miss a couple of weeks.
Brown said Smith was knocked out and players did not come back to play in a week after receiving those sorts of blows. Smith’s absence was a blow to a side that showed plenty of heart and tried hard but lacked proper execution, eventually falling 24-15, the first loss to the Chiefs in seven games. Brown could not fault the effort but said the performance came down to not having played enough as a team.
"We tried really hard and played really well as individuals but overall we were just rusty as a team and we just did not execute very well when we put them under pressure," Brown said.
"Highlanders teams in the past used to live off 45% of possession and that stat probably did not end up favouring us."
He said the fact the side’s All Blacks played only 40 minutes in pre-season had not helped preparations.
It was an early-season performance and the players would be better for the run.
"It normally takes guys three games to get back to their best."
He said perhaps the side had too much possession in the first half and that could have weighed against them as the Chiefs defence grew in confidence the longer the Highlanders remained tryless.
No8 Liam Squire left the field with a shoulder injury and it was unclear how serious it was.
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie was happy to come away with the win but said his side had not played well.
"I was rapt that we won but not with the quality. That first half, we kicked aimlessly. They got behind us a lot. A little bit of scrambling and desperation stopped them scoring," Rennie said.
"We were pretty fortunate to get a result, to be honest."
The side was lucky to be in front at halftime, having played no footy, he said, but his players did improve in the second half and managed to build some pressure.
"It has been well documented we have struggled against the Highlanders, so we will take any result we can get. But we have to be a whole lot better."