Juan Smith out of the World Cup

South African flanker Juan Smith has been ruled out of next month's World Cup in New Zealand by an Achilles tendon injury.

The 30-year-old suffered the injury during the South African Super Rugby season and had undergone surgery to try to rectify the problem.

Smith was expected to miss the Springboks' Tri-Nations match with New Zealand on Saturday but he has failed to recover sufficiently and will now miss the World Cup.

"I won't be able to give everything and realise I should put my team, teammates and the Bok fans first," Smith told the Volksblad newspaper.

"I must stop lying to myself - what I've been doing these last three weeks - and realise that I'm not ready."

Smith, who has earned 69 international caps for the Springboks, was a member of the South African 2009 World Cup winning squad.

South Africa begin their defence of the World Cup against Wales in Wellington on Sunday, September 11.