Still No 1
13 Nov 2008
Bryan Habana may be struggling for form, but he remains a world class player.
Bryan Habana is a genius. A flawed one, as 2008 has revealed, but a genius nonetheless. That assertion is not hyperbole nor baseless rhetoric. Thirty-one tries in 44 Tests bears testimony to this.
That strike rate puts him in the company of the finest wingers currently playing Test rugby. ‘Rocket Man’ Joe Rokocoko with 43 in 49 Tests is the most prolific in terms of strike rate, then there’s Sitiveni Sivivatu with 23 in 30 and the Welsh wizard Shane Williams with 43 in 59.
Go back further and Habana would not feel like an imposter holding court with former All Blacks hitman Jeff Wilson (50 in 60) or his countryman Doug Howlett (49 in 63).
Habana’s feats become even more notable when you bear in mind that Wilson and Howlett played the majority of their careers prior to the evolution of defensive structures which have seen the elite teams become more organised and subsequently more impenetrable than Fort Knox.
Consider also that he has played in Springbok teams that have traditionally relied more heavily on the beef in their pack to go the direct route, rather than sending the fly boys on trips down Electric Avenue.
Habana is eight tries from becoming the leading try-scorer in Springbok history. When, not if, he achieves this, he’ll knock his boyhood idol Joost van der Westhuizen from the summit. Incredibly, he’s played 45 Tests fewer than the former scrumhalf. And he has just turned 25. Frightening.
But even geniuses have periods where their mortality is exposed and it is at this point where even the most prudent observers start to question their haste in ascribing greatness to the player in question. For Habana, that time is now.
Habana has been seduced by that unsexy old dame, Mediocrity. Five tries in 469 minutes of Super Rugby and one in 494 minutes of Test rugby in 2008 bear witness to this. But Habana and Mediocrity are terrible lovers.
You see, geniuses are wired for greatness. They are excruciatingly sombre people in another state of existence. He is not used to mediocrity. Despises it in fact.
This is a kid who lost just one athletics race at primary school, ‘and that’s because me and a mate were messing around when the gun sounded for the start of the race,’ he says. ‘I still came second though.’ He scored a brace in his first-ever flirtation with rugby for King Edward VII’s U14G team. He crossed the chalk thrice against New Zealand in the U21 World Championship in 2004 with a seriously injured knee, and announced his arrival on the Test stage by scoring a try in a losing cause against England in 2004.
He finished 2005 having scored 12 tries in 12 Tests. ‘Who is this guy?’ the rugby world asked. The IRB replied by telling them he was the Best Newcomer of the Year and only an impossibly brilliant season by All Blacks pivot Dan Carter prevented them from announcing him as the Player of the Year as well. That accolade would come in 2007, when the standard of Habana’s performances had the IRB and the rest of the world asking: ‘Dan who?’
Such was Habana’s brilliance that even Carter, who is the only celestial being ever to be granted time off to return to earth to play rugby, was lost for words. ‘He was from a different planet mate,’ Carter said.
The assessment of Habana seemed simplistic, but coming from a player widely recognised as the most gifted of his generation, it was a massive compliment. But Habana has returned to planet earth with a thud. He is a shadow of the player who was the root cause of insomnia among opposition coaches, particularly at the World Cup in France. It was Habana’s World Cup.
He’d been introduced to the game for the first time at the showpiece tournament in South Africa in 1995, where he watched Joel Stransky sink the All Blacks in the final at Ellis Park from his father’s lap. Twelve years on, he dominated on the biggest stage of them all in a manner few have.
So what’s debilitating Dash?
Theories have been debated. Fatigue, injury, tactical naivety on behalf of his coaches and the tactical astuteness of opposition coaches to defuse the ballistic missile are prominent in those debates and all have a degree of validity. But the people closest to him know best.
Pieter Rossouw, Habana’s backline coach at the Bulls, believes it is a hybrid of issues. Rossouw is well placed to comment on the struggles of a Test winger. He wore the Springbok No 11 shirt, that Habana now
owns, 43 times, scoring 21 tries, and was an outstanding player for Western Province.
‘There are a couple of issues with Bryan which have all contributed to a slump in confidence,’ Rossouw says. ‘He’s struggling mentally at the moment which is quite normal for any player really, but it affects Bryan more because he sets such a high standard for himself. He always wants to do something special and when that’s not happening he tends to get frustrated and it shows.
‘That is a problem because his team-mates take their mental and emotional cues from him and when his shoulders are sagging it sends out the wrong message to them. Let me stress that he’s not a sulker, it’s just that he’s so competitive and wants to contribute all the time.
‘The fact that injuries have stifled his season hasn’t helped as well,’ Rossouw continues. ‘We’ve seen in the past that when he gets into a rhythm he’s unstoppable. You only have to look at the World Cup as an example of that.
‘You also have to remember that players like Bryan are subject to elaborate planning from opposition coaches, who always look to nullify his influence by cutting down his space and time. They know that given space and time, Bryan will destroy defences.
‘But any assessment of Bryan can’t be complete without looking at him in the team context. There’s an obvious trend with him as there is with all of the world’s elite players – when the team is playing well, they are prominent. Sadly, the converse also applies. Look at Bryan in 2005 when the Bulls and Springboks were going well and then again in 2007. Then compare his 2006 and 2008 form to that. There’s a clear difference, and the common thread is that the teams he was playing in were struggling.’
Allister Coetzee worked closely with Habana for four years in his time as backline coach of the Springboks and knows the player well. He echoes Rossouw’s thoughts but has no fear that Habana will dwell among mere mortals for long.
‘Every player goes through a patch like this and Bryan is no different,’ Coetzee says. ‘The top players are able to come out better than they entered and I’m sure this is what will happen with Bryan. He must be patient at this time, and guard against an unrealistic expectation of himself. He sets an unbelievably high standard for himself, he always wants to be known as the best winger in the world. If there’s a World XV named, he wants to be at No 11.
‘He needs to understand that you can’t sustain the type of form he has over an extended period. There are external factors that will blunt you and it’s OK to slip back into the shadows for a bit and look to create opportunities for your team-mates.
‘The more he plays though, the sharper he’ll get and in time I’m sure he’ll be back. The battle for him now is a mental one. It’s like an internal war and I’m sure he’ll win.’
The need to be the victor in what is widely agreed to be an intense intrapersonal battle seems to be the
common theme. Henning Gericke is trained in the science of mental conditioning and spent four years filling that role with the Springboks. He’s been inside the winger’s head and likes what he’s seen.
‘Bryan possesses the quality that only the truly great athletes do – he lifts his game to fit the occasion. The bigger the game, the bigger the performance he delivers,’ says Gericke.
‘I was working with the Sharks in 2007 and in the final I distinctly remember thinking, “Oh no,” when he got the ball in that final move because I knew that if you needed a match winner who doesn’t crack under pressure, Bryan is your man. He might be off the boil slightly now but mentally and physically it’s impossible to play 30 games at your peak. He’s matured a lot in the last four years and he now knows how to peak mentally when he most needs to.
‘Champion athletes all share that trait as well as an unwavering belief that they can beat the opposition no matter what their form is like. Bryan is no different.
‘He may come across as windgat or arrogant to some people, but he just knows that he will produce when he needs to. There have been a couple of times he’s told coaches “I will produce” before major matches and always has. He is a champion. You’ll see, he’ll pull himself out of this place.’
The problem with geniuses is that they are often victims of their own brilliance. They set a standard that they expect to attain consistently and in doing so give others the right to hold the same expectation. Deviation from that standard elicits a level of criticism the mediocre are unaccustomed to. They are expected to blend the breathtaking with the distinctly ordinary. Geniuses are not.
‘I think Bryan is subject to an unfair level of expectation from not only the South African rugby fraternity but on the global stage as well,’ Rossouw, who is well versed in the game of build ‘em up to break ‘em down, says.
‘If he has an off day, you read about it in the South African, New Zealand, Australian and English press. I suppose that’s the price you pay for being a global superstar, but I sometimes wish people would take into consideration that Bryan is playing against some of the world’s elite players week in, week out. The fact that he excels more than he struggles speaks volumes about the class of the man.’
Time heals all wounds, especially those of the psychological nature and you simply cannot suppress genius. It infiltrates the cells, stimulates the neurons to trigger the most brilliant motor functions and oozes out of the pores. Habana’s genius will soon resurface and the world will once again be mesmerised.
‘Bryan is a class apart and this means he simply can’t measure himself against his peers – he’s so far ahead,’ Rossouw says. ‘He is like Tiger Woods in the sense that he competes against himself and only he can determine whether he overcomes the mental challenges that will come throughout his career. Rest assured, this isn’t the last time he’ll go through this. If he masters that art, I’d hate to think just how devastating he could be.
‘At 25, he has time on his side as well. The key for him now is to go back to the basics, be patient and realise that he should not define his success or failure simply by the number of tries he scores.
‘Part of his problems have come from the fact that the opposition often post two or three defenders on him. But the reality is that this is a significant part of his value to any team as well. It means that there are two or three team-mates unmarked somewhere on the park. The best players in the world offer that to their teams and
the sooner Bryan embraces that, the better for him.
‘That’s not to say he won’t get back in the try-scoring groove again because he’s too good to to be kept down. He’s a special player. Special players never stay down.’
By Ryan Vrede for SA Rugby magazine
103 Comments
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13 Nov 2008, 13:38 pm
#48 coma:
Although I think it is highly unlikely, it would explain quite a few things…the obsession with Pierre “Prettyboy” Spies, for one…
13 Nov 2008, 13:39 pm
#47 WP Till I Die: or heaven forbid you mention Steve H
13 Nov 2008, 13:39 pm
#41 Tacitus: Tac, blow off some steam, take your favourite fan picture of Pierretjie, lock yourself in the bathroom, and lose your load. Jou masterbeertjie!
13 Nov 2008, 13:40 pm
Habana is yest outa form.
13 Nov 2008, 13:40 pm
#48 coma:
Define hair!
13 Nov 2008, 13:40 pm
Spies is permanent outa form
13 Nov 2008, 13:42 pm
I always thought the term ‘genius’ related only to acedemic prowess?
I agree with Tacitus on this though, you cannot compare Joost to Habana, how many scrum-halves have done what Joost did?
13 Nov 2008, 13:46 pm
#55 Isigidi:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
13 Nov 2008, 13:46 pm
#57 Stawm:
Whoops
It’s “academic”
13 Nov 2008, 13:47 pm
100% agree with Tacitus too. How can you compare.
By the way… Carter will get the award again this year IMHO… so how good is he?
13 Nov 2008, 13:48 pm
#57 Stawm:
Joost was an amazing rugby player, and is a fair to middling rugby commentator. It is, however, as an Afrikaans celebrity and Huisgenoot centerfold that he fails to make the grade…
13 Nov 2008, 13:48 pm
#57 Stawm: Yeah, i have to agree, no scrumhalf lacking the ability to pass to both sides in the history of the game could keep a position for so long . Miraculous really!!
13 Nov 2008, 13:48 pm
Habana is still the best winger in the world.period
BUT
he is going through a bad patch.Remember in 06′?he was in terrible form,always chipping and chasing,never trusting his pace,getting caught on the outside etc…but he came back better than ever in 07′…(IRB MVP)
this is no different.(But Rokocoko’s 43/49 ratio is CRAZY…plus most of his games are vs 3N opponents..not italy/wales/scotland/canada/fiji etc-shane williams)-lets not even start with OHATA…
13 Nov 2008, 13:49 pm
heard a rumour that tact and joost used to frequent the same swingers club up there in pretoria
13 Nov 2008, 13:50 pm
The title says, “Still no. 1″. I disagree, he is not no. 1, maybe number 5 with the form he has shown since the WC. I’d put JPP ahead of him. Shane Williams, Lote, RocketKoko, Sivivicious etc.
The boyo needs to be benched and all of you should stop blaming injuries, if he was injured I dont think he would be played. Also looks like he’s lost a yard of pace and I believe Jongi would leave him in the pits
#56 Ethel:
Spies is a qouta player, playing on reputation (dont know how he got it really) alone
13 Nov 2008, 13:52 pm
#61 WP Till I Die: hehe, you don’t watch superrugby, do you? You give him too much credit!!!
13 Nov 2008, 13:52 pm
#64 provinceboytjie:
You can bait Tac all you want.
Once he’s decided, he’s gone.
13 Nov 2008, 13:52 pm
#65 ruggaluvva: the Namibian, Sharks & Wallaby supporter:
Amazing, a Wallaby supporter that makes sense!?!
13 Nov 2008, 13:56 pm
Habana is playing injured
#38 Tacitus: Van der Westhuizen is the greatest 9 I’ve ever seen. They say Gareth Edwards was better but it can’t have been by much.
13 Nov 2008, 13:58 pm
#61 WP Till I Die:
I wrote to Afrikaans version of Boots and All (cant remember the name) and told them that I refuse to watch their programe when Joost is hosting it, and I’m still not watching it.
Sorry, but he really is a pathetic presenter.
13 Nov 2008, 14:01 pm
#49 fish out of water: I’ll forward your e-mail addi to our subs dept and try to get you sorted. Sorry about that.
13 Nov 2008, 14:15 pm
#59 Dawn:
OoPs – thankfully I’m not a journo!
#61 WP Till I Die: Agreed, though I never get involved on that side of things.
13 Nov 2008, 14:15 pm
Watched Rokocoko vs Scots and in S14…he has lost quite a bit of pace from his earlier days 03/04.BUT his physicality and rugby intelligence is at its peak.Much like the new version of JP Pietersen.
Habana IMO is not as naturally talented as the likes of Rokocoko,Caucau,Wilson,Lomu,Umaga..But he has the drive and belief to surpass them.A tremendously hard working player,pays attention to detail and always reinvents himseldf adding to his repetoir as he goes.All this but he is still only 25..scary
IMO in about 3/4yrs time he will reverting back to 13,ala Umaga
13 Nov 2008, 14:17 pm
#69 Big Hit: That is the long and the short of it! It’s the shoulder injury that he picked up at the start of the Super14 and it’s changed his running style on attack and affecting him mentally on defence
13 Nov 2008, 14:18 pm
#71 Ryan:
I’m struggling with my subs too.
13 Nov 2008, 14:25 pm
#75 Dawn:
The ones from Subway?
13 Nov 2008, 14:26 pm
#70 Isigidi:
SperRugby?
13 Nov 2008, 14:27 pm
#77 SharkMarine:
SperRugby = SuperRugby
13 Nov 2008, 14:30 pm
He needs to start looking for work more , Pieterson is putting him to shame maybe he also needs a kick up the backside …
13 Nov 2008, 14:34 pm
#73 mshiniwami: i agree with you completely, when habanas pace starts to drop slightly then he may slot into number 13, he will take such an amazing tactical nouse and willno longer need to be the fastest in the world instead utilising his skills and still fast pace to break through defences!
13 Nov 2008, 14:35 pm
Habana is **** this year,Spies is **** this year,Matfield and Fdp are mediocre. All from Bulls, so what has changed? Well the BB got a new coach in the form of the super **** Ludekak. So now everyone can stop wondering. Ludekak has f#@$@ked up the BB and now the players are also ****.
13 Nov 2008, 14:37 pm
Chester said it best in Beeld today, “It is one thing to be the best, it is another to stay there.”
I do not think he is there anymore, he needs to get back there, and while he is not there, he should not play, we have other wings at the moment playing better than him like…..well…..anyone.
13 Nov 2008, 14:41 pm
#81 BlueBlood: You are an expert analyst!!!
13 Nov 2008, 14:42 pm
#81 BlueBlood: Could be.
13 Nov 2008, 14:54 pm
#73 mshiniwami:
What repetoire is that?
Habana: “Ohhhh, let me wait for it. C’mon Brian wait for it. You’ve done nothing all game boet so wait for it……Now!!!”
Bladen: “And there he goes at full speed. No one can catch him!!!! Intercept try to Habana!!!”
13 Nov 2008, 15:10 pm
Habana’s strike rate at the moment is 70.5% (31 tries in 44 tests). He is trailing the great Danie Gerber at 79.2% (19/24). At one stage Habanero was above Daantjie but his lack of form has seen him dropping to #2 on the list of Springboks. If he’s form does not pick up, he will drop below current #3, Ray Mordt with a strike rate of 66% (12/18).
Speaking of Danie Gerber and Ray Mordt – what a pity that we did not see more of that eighties Springbok backline in action. Probably the greatest Springbok backline of all time: Johan Heunis/Gysie Pienaar, Ray Mordt, Danie Gerber, Michael Doep, Carel Doep, Naas Botha, Garth Wright – LEKKER!!!
13 Nov 2008, 15:11 pm
#85 ruggaluvva: the Namibian, Sharks & Wallaby supporter: Exactly, I am very happy they do not fire me when I have a mediocre day at the office, but Habana will not be losing his job, he will still get paid, but does he have to play if he is not at the top of his game?
What does his contract says? I wonder, anyway.
Sorry for guys like Nokwe, that could have proven himself better than others.
Why should he not fight to get his position back like others?
Who was that lady again on the ***-video of Helium? Or was it a man?
13 Nov 2008, 15:20 pm
Am I the only person who wonders how Habana managed to gain so much muscle in such a short space of time?
Or why he has acne on his back at the age of 25?
13 Nov 2008, 15:31 pm
#71 Ryan: Thanks, I have emailed them and phoned them but no luck.
13 Nov 2008, 15:43 pm
No Mention of Christian Cullen?
And he was a fullback, probably the greatest that has ever lived in terms of try scoring and strike rate.
Watching him in full flight was truly awesome.
13 Nov 2008, 15:45 pm
#69 Big Hit:
Have to agree with you there, its a pity hes becoming such a plonker in his old age..
13 Nov 2008, 15:53 pm
#69 Big Hit: Unfortunately you are probably wrong. Gareth Edwards is rated as being in the top 5 rugby players ever (if not the best). He was unbelievable in skills as well as strategical and tactical appreciation of the game. Of the modern era, probably Cullen comes closest to that level.
NB That’s not to say that (with the exception of his last 3 years) Joost was not a great player.
13 Nov 2008, 16:14 pm
FUNNY HOW THE SPIES AND HABANAS OF TODAY GO THRU MENTAL PROBLEMS. THEY CANT WIN EVERY TIME THEY PLAY!!!! AND YOU CANT KEEP A GOOD MAN OUT OF A TEAM LIKE KONKOVSKI AND NOKWE FOR TAHT MATTER. HOW DOES A OLD LAD LIKE TERBLANCHE RUN CIRCLES ROUND HABANA. HE IS USELESS. HE CAN ONLY INTERCEPT AND KICK AND CHASE. NO REAL SKILL ONLY PACE.
13 Nov 2008, 17:12 pm
Recon Bryan may still an automatic choice BUT…. he has not been at his best recently and he owes us a few good ones! Maybe starting on Saturday?
13 Nov 2008, 17:50 pm
#65 ruggaluvva: the Namibian, Sharks & Wallaby supporter: Lol how is Spies a quota player?! He’s white for ******’s sake! This whole quota player criticism of PDV is seriously getting out of hand!
13 Nov 2008, 17:56 pm
#65 ruggaluvva: the Namibian, Sharks & Wallaby supporter: How many tries has Pietersen scored in comparison with Habana? Its not even close.
Habana is injured and exhausted. He shouldn’t be on this tour, he should be resting up and recovering before starting a conditioning program in prep for the Super 14. He’s played rugby non-stop since last years S14 and desperately needs a break but PDV and Muir are playing him into the ground right now, it could well ruin his career which would be a real shame as he is by far the most exciting Bok player in recent times.
13 Nov 2008, 17:59 pm
#96 JayDaFiveOh:
True.
The man cannot perform from to day, he is flesh and blood.
Let Nokwe play.
13 Nov 2008, 18:13 pm
#92 grunk: Cullen wasn’t that good an all round full back.
13 Nov 2008, 21:24 pm
How good are you? As good as you could be or as good as you are playing NOW. He’s not in top form, any ****** can see that, give him a rest at least… when did he last have time out – January last year!
Stupid playing him with Odwa there too…
Not fair on players who are in form and not fair on Habana either. SA always seems to get stuck with players reputations, rather than their play – look at Spies!
13 Nov 2008, 22:22 pm
#81 BlueBlood: If the Bulls are that ****, just think how **** the others are – the Bulls still made it to the CC final and gave the Sharks a run for their money even though they were second best that day!
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