New role for Habana
6 Apr 2009
A injury to Zane Kirchner could see Bryan Habana fill the void at fullback.
Kirchner limped off in the 11th minute of the Bulls’ match against the Crusaders with an injury to his buttock muscle.
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke told keo.co.za that the medical staff would have a clearer understanding of the extent of the injury on Monday.
‘I’m very worried about Zane. We’re hoping that scans don’t show a tear because obviously he is an important player for us, he is making good progress but at this stage he only had a 50% chance of playing,’ he told keo.co.za
Ludeke said they wouldn’t call up a player to the squad as cover for Kirchner, instead confirming that Habana, who shifted from wing to fullback in Christchurch, would start at 15 if Kirchner failed to recover in time for their match against the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.
‘I thought Bryan was fantastic at fullback against the Crusaders,’ Ludeke said.
‘In our view he is an all rounder who has the skills to fill a couple of positions in the backline. Importantly, he is happy to play at fullback if he needs to, so that’s really helpful from a coach’s perspective.
‘He asked big questions of the Crusaders at times and there was a 10-minute period where they didn’t kick on him because they were wary of his potential to cause damage on the counter-attack. He’s a special player who is capable of doing special things from fullback. We’re hoping Zane is OK, but we’re not worried about slotting Bryan in there if we need to.’
Habana, white-hot in 2007, has struggled to regain the form that saw him crowned IRB Player of the Year in that year, scoring just five times in the 2008 Super 14 and just once in 2009. The positional shift will allow him more time and space to operate in which could be beneficial, particularly since there is a growing belief that he has lost the extra yard of pace that made him the pre-eminent winger in world rugby.
Whether his kicking game is good enough remains to be seen, while his positional play, ability under the high ball and anticipation will be tested by a Tahs side who are likely to kick often.
Reflecting on their 16-13 defeat in Christchurch, Ludeke said their lack of composure in the final 10 minutes, vital turnovers, poor decision making in good positions and an indifferent performance at the set phases cost them their second tour victory.
He predicted that the Tahs would pose a different challenge to the Crusaders in that they they would be a lot more structured in their approach. Ludeke identified dominance at the breakdown as being crucial to victory. The Tahs were strong in that facet of play against the Stormers, with Phil Waugh leading their ground level assault.
‘Our ball carriers have to be a lot more accurate than they were against the Crusaders. We spilled the ball 10 times in contact and when we did go to ground we weren’t able to get speed in our recycle, which is crucial to the way we play.
‘But that won’t be the only focus for us,’ he continued. ‘The battles will be the similar to what we faced against the Crusaders. Our set pieces need to be on point so we establish a good platform for attack, our tactical kicking needs to improve and our defence has to be very, very good because the Waratahs are a quality outfit.’
By Ryan Vrede
30 Comments
6 Apr 2009, 07:04 am
fumbling dragon I suspect!
6 Apr 2009, 07:27 am
Why do so many players who play under Ludeke’s tutelage pull up with BUTTOCK muscle problems? Poor old Andre Petoors did his butt muscle in just by sitting awkwardly on an aeroplane seat and it was so bad it almost ended his career. Now it’s Kirchner. It this like old Tutankamen’s Curse?
6 Apr 2009, 07:27 am
I think if this works out well it could be a new start for Habana.He could turn out to be one of the most dangerous fullbacks considering his speed, sidestep, defense and sometimes his kicking ability.
Just imagine what he could do with so much space and time to make a decision and look for a gap.This might be just what he needs to boost his confidence.Like a young Jason Robinson with his speed etc.
6 Apr 2009, 07:44 am
#3 Kapper: I agree wholeheartedly man. Habana is not allowed the kind of space he perhaps once was at wing. Give him a chance. There’s no-one else putting their hand up for the Springbok jersey except for Terreblanche and he’s (not in my opinion but anyway) too old.
6 Apr 2009, 07:50 am
#4 Kid Omo III: Could be a wise move considering the Protea/Boks current full-backs on offer. I agree his age a considerable plus.
6 Apr 2009, 07:50 am
And good old Tiger Mangweni? What more must this guy do to get a shot at the Bulls Super 14 jersey? If Ludeke really has no faith in him then why sign him in the first place? Ridiculous.
6 Apr 2009, 08:24 am
What about Tiger Mangweni, cleaarly Ludeke has something agasinst this oke. He fooled him around last year he’s doing it again, shame on you JUDAS.
6 Apr 2009, 08:33 am
call up Tiger you bloody plonker…check the game again…habana was caught out of position so often…
6 Apr 2009, 08:47 am
Big loss and potentially for the Boks… hope Kirchner is back soon…
6 Apr 2009, 09:07 am
Pity Zane picked up a injury. Was playing well.
6 Apr 2009, 09:07 am
#2 TheTackler:
You know Loffie Eloff and F Ludeke are two different people right?
6 Apr 2009, 09:12 am
This makes no difference. What’s the chance that he return every ball as a bomb. (Like every other Safrican 15)
6 Apr 2009, 09:12 am
Funny enough. The Bulls have in Gerhard vd Heever a player who played as a fullback most of his career.
6 Apr 2009, 09:12 am
Thiks is a huge gamble!! Huge…. Lets hope he pulls it off….
6 Apr 2009, 09:23 am
NOOO!! Habana is gonna get caught out of position more often than not…. Bring in Tiger Mangweni!
6 Apr 2009, 09:24 am
#7 groti: #7 groti:
Hmm. There must be an echo in here…
6 Apr 2009, 09:36 am
IF THIS PAYS OFF WE MIGHT SEE THE BEGINNING OF A NEW JAON ROBINSON
6 Apr 2009, 09:46 am
#17 mbaxman93: #3 Kapper:
Habana as great a wing as he is,is NO JASON ROBINSON.
Habana is a allround wing who contribute a lot on defense,great finishing ability and has great straight line speed and gets himself involved/high work rate.
But he has NO SIDESTEP
NOT A BALANCED RUNNER
HAS NO SWERVE/GUILE
He is a orthodox,committed,hard working rugby player.with amazing speed.But no one to make an impact like Robinson-DIFFERENt SKILL SETS altogether
6 Apr 2009, 09:51 am
#17 mbaxman93: Joan Robinson…. has a nice ring to it…
6 Apr 2009, 10:20 am
“his bottock muscle” WTF is a bottock?
6 Apr 2009, 10:21 am
Botox for your buttocks, anyone?
6 Apr 2009, 10:34 am
Nou ja, as die Bulls hul ‘hat trick’ kry hierdie naweek, kan hul in die sewende plek inskuif, met die luukse van ” ‘n game in hand” nou daarmee heen.
Drie spanne kan, as hul die naweek wen, met bonuspunte en goeie punteverskil, of gelyk of verby die Bulls skuif:
Canes
Brumbies
Highlanders
As die Bulls dus enige hoop nog oor het vir ‘n tuissemi in hierdie jaar se toernooi, dan moet hul saterdag hul gat mooi in rat kry.
As Ludeke volhard met 3 agstemanne wat min of meer dieselfde speel as sy lostrio, en nie vir Kuun op flank kies nie, dan is die game so te sê al verloor wannee die span aangekondig word.
Dit help ook nie om Kuun na 60 op te stuur nie, hy moet daar van die begin af wees, anders gaan dit te laat wees. Kyk watter groot impak het hy teen die Saders gemaak in die losspel, en dit terwyl hy haker was.
So, my ‘call’ vir wie gaan wen tussen die Tahs en Bulls, en wat heel moontlik die res van die Bulls se seisoen gaan bepaal, lê vierkantig in Ludeke se spanaankondiging.
Kom nou Ludeke, hou op om vir HM te luister, en doen wat die hele ganse rugbywêreld weet: Kuun is ‘n gemiddelde haker, maar ‘n baie goeie flank !
6 Apr 2009, 10:52 am
Goodluck to him.
6 Apr 2009, 11:25 am
Could be what Habs needs because at the moment he is useless would struggle to make a vodacom side,its neither here nor there anyway the bulls have no chance of making the semis by the time they get back to SA they will be at least 8/10 points behind the 4th placed team and this will be to much for them to make up,Tahs are going to easily out think them.
I would love for the Bulls to win if only to do the sharks a favour but hey when did one sa team do a favour for another.
6 Apr 2009, 11:31 am
Problem with 15 is that it is a specialist position and positional play more important.
You have to anticipate where the opposition will kick etc.
Bryan, without doubt a special athlete, unfortunately does not have this ability.
6 Apr 2009, 16:54 pm
Did Kirchner pulled his butt before that up-and-under that led to the Crusaders try? That rather soft try cost the Bulls dearly!
6 Apr 2009, 21:48 pm
Now we get to see how good Habana’s all round game is.
Christian Cullen was exposed as very average when he lost his pace, let’s hope Habana has more about him.
6 Apr 2009, 23:01 pm
#27 Big Hit:
Christian could still side step,he still could hurt teams even though he had slowed down by that injury he got.
Habana is all about speed,if he loses that he has nothing really,maybe defence but you need an attacking player at back.
Nice that you are bringing Cullen up,he is without doubt the most destructive player that has played in the #15 shirt before his injuries started.
7 Apr 2009, 00:26 am
#28 Hurricane: the ability to sidestep without the ability to get away isn’t really worth much, with pace he was a top asset at 15, without it he was an average player showing that his all round game wasn’t really up to much. Contrast with Burke or Latham.
Habana has a chance to show he is about more than just pace otherwise it might be a wrap for him, so good luck to him.
7 Apr 2009, 14:36 pm
the first line of the article should read: “AN” injury to Zane….
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.