Habana needs help
8 Mar 2011
GAVIN RICH, writing in SA Rugby magazine, says Bryan Habana needs creative players around him if he’s to start scoring tries at Test level again.
Not since Percy Montgomery and his white boots invoked the ire of the Loftus crowd in a Tri-Nations match in 1999 has a Springbok been jeered and heckled as mercilessly as Bryan Habana was by the Bloemfontein crowd last season. Poor Habana looked like he had no place to hide as his own supporters turned on him during a first half against Australia in which he was cruelly exposed several times on defence and in which he looked incapable of catching the ball without making a mistake.
For Habana it was surely the nadir of a career which was highlighted by him winning the IRB Player of the Year award just three seasons previously. The award in 2007 was always going to go to the top performer at the World Cup, and Habana’s eight tries in the tournament, including four in the opening match against Samoa, equalled the record set by Jonah Lomu in 1999 for the number of tries scored by an individual at rugby’s showpiece event.
So it has been quite a slide for Habana, and the statistics appear to back up the perception of his critics that his match-winning abilities are on the wane. At the end of 2007, after three full seasons in the green and gold, Habana had scored 30 tries for his country. Back then you would have predicted that by now he would have advanced to a point where his number of tries matched Jacques Kallis’s batting average. But Habana is nowhere near the mid-50s, and Joost van der Westhuizen’s aggregate tally of 38 Test tries for the Boks still has to be eclipsed. That is the number of tries next to Habana’s name now, yet he equalled Van der Westhuizen’s record as long ago as June of last year.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers said during the Tri-Nations that what was stumping Habana was his eagerness to break the record. Yet that cannot explain why in the three years since the World Cup he has only scored eight times. He wasn’t on the cusp of the record in 2008, when he only scored two tries in the entire season.
Neither is it just Habana’s strike rate that has bred him a phalanx of critics questioning his worth. It was his defensive play more than any weaknesses in his attacking game that most contributed to the crescendo of boos and jeers in the Bloemfontein Test.
In that game and the one in Pretoria the previous week, the Wallabies were all over the Boks in the first half – and the misalignment of Habana’s spot tackles were a contributing factor in forcing the Boks to play catch-up on both occasions.
It was Habana, as much as the then out-of-form skipper John Smit, the critics were thinking of when they slammed De Villiers for not being strong enough to make big selection calls and sacrifice senior players.
And yet, for all this black and white statistical evidence weighing against Habana, there are a few things which just don’t add up and which should prompt deeper probing and analysis of where and why it appears to be going wrong for him.
For a start, where were the question marks over Habana’s pace and finishing ability when he scored two tries in his first Newlands appearance in a Stormers jersey against the Waratahs last February? Yes, there was carping from some Cape critics who think every ball should be thrown to the wing and who felt that Habana’s attacking ability was not utilised properly in the Stormers’ system.
But Habana never once let the Stormers down; he scored tries when it was on to do so, and it is hard to recall him producing the errors that blighted him at Springbok level. Moreover, the Stormers ended the Super 14 with a phenomenal defensive record and there were none of the question marks that were to plague Habana in the Tri-Nations.
The Stormers conceded an average of just over one try per match, so clearly there was no defensive weakness. Neither was it a case of Habana losing form in the Tri-Nations and then going into an irreversible slide. Some aspects of the claims made by the Bok management after a series of tests conducted during the Bok camp last September were questioned, but there was no reason to disbelieve the contention that Habana was quicker than ever.
Certainly when he returned to rugby for Western Province against the Sharks at Newlands he showed the kind of pace that has played such a big part in his success. Habana was sharp in the WP jersey, and it led us to expect him to be the same for the Boks in the UK and Ireland. He wasn’t, so why is that?
There are no clear answers, but the question could be at least partially answered if you go back to Habana’s humble speech when he accepted his IRB Player of the Year award in Paris. He refused to accept all the credit for what he achieved, and instead pointed to those around him.
He reminded everyone that rugby is a team game, and the man he singled out for particular mention as the architect of what had gone right for both himself and the Boks was scrumhalf Fourie du Preez.
Some might say it was false modesty, but those who have heard former All Blacks wing Jeff Wilson talk at coaching courses will get a strong sense of what Habana was on about. It is Wilson’s view that a wing is almost completely reliant on the creators around him.
Wilson does have a point. Jonah Lomu, with his massive bulk and strength, was a rare and almost unique example of a winger who could force his way over for tries from almost impossible situations. For the most part wings tend to take credit for what has been done around them, just as goal-kickers often steal the limelight from the hard-working forwards who create the pressure that leads to the penalties.
Is it stretching it to suggest that part of the reason Habana looks off for the Boks but remains sharp in a Stormers jersey is because in one team he has Morné Steyn as his flyhalf and in the other he has Peter Grant? One player asks questions of the opposing defences, thus creating more opportunities out wide, the other does it much less so.
It wasn’t just Habana who looked bankrupt on attack in the Bok jersey last season, the entire backline did. There was a rush to blame Bok assistant coach Dick Muir for this, but there has been nothing wrong with the attacking potency of the other backlines that Muir has coached.
Unfortunately no one had the guts to do what should have been done by giving Pat Lambie an opportunity to start in a Test, but all the Bok management – and this includes De Villiers – were astounded at the effect that the 20-year-old Sharks flyhalf had on the backs in training sessions during the last end-of-year tour.
Lambie did show how effective the backs could be with him at pivot in his brief cameo in his debut match in Dublin. Those who doubt this view should take a look at the try scored by Gio Aplon when Lambie was on the field – where did it come from and who created it? Lambie’s ability to take the ball and pass it accurately from the gainline played a big part.
There wasn’t too much of that last year from the Boks, and, to be honest, neither was there in South Africa’s successful 2009 season, where percentage rugby was the key to the resounding Tri-Nations triumph.
During that southern hemisphere competition there was a moment when the Boks might have given some insight into why Habana may appear to be struggling. In the match in Perth the Boks shocked the Aussies by running the ball. It was their best running performance in ages, and Habana scored a brace.
Of course, given the strategy of the Bulls and Bok teams he has played for, it would be no surprise to find that a high percentage of Habana’s tries across all levels have come off kick and chase, and several were also the product of intercepts which capitalise on the panic of opponents who have been squeezed.
But given the opportunity, Habana has been as fine a finisher of opportunities that have been created for him as anyone who has played the game. So it would probably be reasonable to assume Habana would have added significantly to his try-scoring tally had he been in the side on the other day (apart from Perth) in recent memory when the Boks were in the business of creating tries for their wings.
That was in the 53-8 win over Australia in the last Tri-Nations match of 2008. Jongi Nokwe scored four tries, but every one of those tries was laid on a platter for Nokwe, all he needed was his pace to finish off.
What was significant about that game was that it was the last that Butch James played as the first-choice starting flyhalf. In the initial days of De Villiers’s reign as national coach the Boks suffered from confusion in the messages sent out, and James was an obvious victim, but he showed at Ellis Park against the Aussies just why someone like Habana thrived more prior to 2007 than he has subsequently.
Although often accused of being too conservative, one thing that the previous Bok coach Jake White was always set against was a flyhalf who made a habit of standing in the pocket. It was why Willem de Waal never got to feature under White, not even for an end-of-year tour where some critics felt he might prove beneficial, and Derick Hougaard only played for the Bok ‘B team’ in the 2007 Tri-Nations.
Some may now ask why it was that Habana scored so many tries for the Bulls when Hougaard was wearing No 10, but there is an easy answer for that which goes back again to Habana’s acceptance speech in Paris in 2007 – Fourie du Preez.
It is all about the men on the inside asking questions of the opposition, and Du Preez does that in abundance. It is probably the reason that Steyn looks a more potent attacking force and attacking catalyst when he is present. Of course Du Preez wasn’t present last year, and the Bok kicking game and attacking game suffered, and as a consequence Habana was made to look second rate.
Lambie probably hasn’t been given enough Test experience to be risked as a starter at a World Cup and the Boks are unlikely to move Ruan Pienaar back to flyhalf now, but the return of Du Preez, even more so if coupled with the selection of James, could just see Habana repeat in 2011 what he did in 2007.
– This article first appeared in the March issue of SA Rugby magazine. The April issue will be on sale from 16 March.
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112 Comments
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8 Mar 2011, 06:39 am
Habanero Dragon……
8 Mar 2011, 06:40 am
What??? There is nothing wrong with the players around him,
Just maybe he needs to be creative?
8 Mar 2011, 06:51 am
Habanna doesn’t deserve to be in the Bok side – let alone the Stormers starting 15. In South Africa we pick names because we know what they COULD do. Other countries pick players on current form. The Bok side going to the World Cup WILL be picked on names and this could be the SA sides downfall.
8 Mar 2011, 06:58 am
Nonsense Gav
Habana knew well in advance he gets into a team that its backs don’t pass to each other, some like JdV would rather pass to the opposition than to his outside centre,
Please,,,
8 Mar 2011, 06:59 am
Habana should have moved to The Sharks. Between him, Pietersen, Ndungane and Mvovo…they’d be the highest try scorers in the country.
Now he just owns a nice house in the country…his best memory of the Cape.
8 Mar 2011, 07:00 am
Maybe he has not been playing that well for a long while because he is not a very good player.
8 Mar 2011, 07:02 am
@garth(garth)-6:
8 Mar 2011, 07:03 am
Not a good buy at all! He was already past his sell by date then.
8 Mar 2011, 07:04 am
WP have always been known for good running rugby. This has worked for them in the past and all players that do not conform to this strategy, should be told to f’off. They have lost their creativity over the last 10 or 15 years. They are to scared to make mistakes from doing something positive, which is not helped by AC.
8 Mar 2011, 07:05 am
Habanna needs to go play for the Vodacom side right now! I don’t think he would make that side anyway!
8 Mar 2011, 07:10 am
Today’s Habana is reduced to a clown with his endless cheetah like stealth prowling attempts to intercept, never mind that opposing teams all are watching out for him long ago
Watch him stays miles out of position, crouching LOW, trying to keep one defender between himself and the ball carrier, pathetic
8 Mar 2011, 07:14 am
@garth(garth)-9:
That was before the quota era, today WP backs never pass the ball and that included Chester, difference was he scored tries aplenty and defended like a lion.
8 Mar 2011, 07:24 am
I would not blame quotas as Jean is the biggest culprit. Although am yet to see Juan pass a ball. Schalk used to be bad as well, but Eddie taught him to pass.
8 Mar 2011, 07:27 am
@garth(garth)-13:
I haven’t seen Jantjes or Aplon passing either
8 Mar 2011, 07:29 am
So far Boland are looking good:
1. Januarie
2. Shimange
3. Moller
4. Hottie
5. Fondse
9. Bolla
10. Dollie
11. Habana
15. Conrad
8 Mar 2011, 07:33 am
4 coloureds used by the stormers over the week end. Yesterday they, yes you racist whites complained about Ricky and Conrad and now its Habana. Juan you’re next. I can’t believe that you people are trying so hard for quotas to really be enforced on you.
8 Mar 2011, 07:38 am
@Zinto(Zinto)-16: Juan played OK. Ricky, Conrad and Habana played k@k. Try watching the game without blinkers.
8 Mar 2011, 07:39 am
If Habana could invent some fancy moves like that convict Quade Cooper, he’d be devastating. Alas he’s a one trick pony with no aces up his sleeve.
I blame this on poor one dimensional coaching.
8 Mar 2011, 07:43 am
Schalk’is still the worst passer in the business, Jean doesn’t pass because its not always on, Jeans job like Grant is to break the first line of defence and then recycle from there, if they get a pop pass away before going to ground its because support is right there with them which is not often the case. Schalk is famous for running away from support and getting isolated. There has developed too much sense of urgency in Habana’s game to show he hasn’t ‘lost it’ hence the desire for him to score solo individualistic tries, which is wrong thinking altogether. But I don’t have that much problem with Habana, still the prime left wing in the country and the others like Mvovo or Basson would have to consistently prove they way ahead of him to usurp his crown. Mossie and De Jongh don’t pass much either but that’s because they’re regarded as outside strike runners and there to score tries, however the entire saffa culture of bash it up rugby is actually to blame, look at NZ and Aussie backs, even Irish, Welsh, French and English, they always off loading before or in the tackle, our boys nearly always go to ground first, its bred into our DNA from sub A.
8 Mar 2011, 07:44 am
Habana will be fine when the Stormers start to get good possession up front, fast ball from the rucks, run straight and give him space to run with the ball in hand.
So by 2020 he should be aces !
8 Mar 2011, 07:46 am
@Zinto(Zinto)-16:
Why do you have to bring race into it? if they did not play well then its should be pointed out. It does not matter what color their skin is.
One wonders who the racist is here? Anti white maybe?
8 Mar 2011, 07:48 am
@skopiskoobidoo(ilanjo)-19:
Agreed, modern day centers dont pass as much since defences are up so quick.
Golden rule never pass to a player who is in a worse position than you
So they try break the gain line and go to ground to win quick ruck ball and after a number of phases hope their is a gap which usually results in a try
8 Mar 2011, 07:49 am
yeah Zinto its fact but lets not let facts get in the way of some nice juicy quota bashing propaganda, especially by the arch White last bastion propagationist himself our own Jakey campaigning Durbanite Journo himself Sticky Richy Gavin the pompom composite Rich
8 Mar 2011, 07:50 am
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-22:
Plus backs are waiting for the interception now. so just throwing a pass for the sake of passing, is not smart
8 Mar 2011, 07:52 am
@skopiskoobidoo(ilanjo)-23:
Boooooooooring.
8 Mar 2011, 07:53 am
yeah coach maybe but if you watch SBW and Conrad Smith they would quickly discredit that theory, their motto seems contra to ours which says always keep the ball alive, come what may, don’t let it die.
8 Mar 2011, 07:56 am
boring or not its absolute fact
Anyway gotta go, so long
Back to the quota and Habana bashing serial saga boys.
8 Mar 2011, 07:56 am
Yes coaches use
Dont die with the ball
Keep the ball alive
and always support the ball carrier.
Support the player you have just passed the ball to
I think it boils down to decision making
When to pass when to take a tackle and of course when to kick
8 Mar 2011, 07:57 am
Picking players on reputation is fine, if they are somewhat out of form, but when the form has been missing for a long time, its a sign that there is a bigger problem. He needs to be treated just like anyone else and fight for his place and get his form back that way, otherwise things will only get worse.
If wingers only ever wait on their wing to finish of trys, they are completely dependant on the players inside them. Habana needs to hunt around for the ball and get his hands on the ball more often. More hard work needed I think.
8 Mar 2011, 07:57 am
@SimonSays(SimonSays)-20: When last have you seen an SA team pass a ball all the way down to the wing. Other teams can still do it. It’s all about versatility. Habana never gets the ball in space and so can’t run around players. He has never had a step, unless you count one or two flukes. He should go play a season of sevens to get some skills and confidence. Province don’t need him in his current state.
8 Mar 2011, 08:05 am
As long as M Steyn wears 10 Bok backs are on a hiding to nothing.
F steyn at 15 allows us the opportunity to play a ‘real ‘ 10….
We have three to choose from imo….Lambie, James [ once back and proven his durability ] and Grant.
No need for the skop en jag specialist….M Steyn is the problem, and Jean De Villiers at 12 needs a fair wake up call as well…
8 Mar 2011, 08:09 am
Why do most players who move to Cape Town turn into utter kak ….. is it the mountain ??????
8 Mar 2011, 08:12 am
9. FdP
10. Lambie
11. Mvovo
12. Jean (Needs a wake up call!)
13. Jacques
14.JP
15. Frans
8 Mar 2011, 08:12 am
Great article – makes sense. Would be great to analyse how the wingers perform with the different scrumhalves / Flyhalves. I would be particularly interested to see how the wingers performed comparing Butch and Morne – Morne defintely has the better boot but he does seem to hang back and not attack the line and create oppertinities, he seems a bit lost with FDP – quite frankly it seems the Boks, Habana everyone is lost without him…
8 Mar 2011, 08:21 am
Hey Garth – who is your pale man in the team you propose? Lambie seems solid but not test kicking level yet – Frans only smaaks the long ones. This could be the weakness but a good attacking line nevertheless. How about Butch at 10 then all our problems are solved….gets the line going, solid skopper and he intimidates the opposition (one of the most underrated reasons…)
8 Mar 2011, 08:24 am
@Honkie(Honkie)-35: I don’t think that Butch is a better kicker than Lambie, although he, De Jongh and a scrummie would be on the bench.
8 Mar 2011, 09:09 am
Firstly Zinto **** off with your racist pig generalisations **** ***** ********* ****
Habadonna has failed to, once his play was figured out, re-invent himself. This is an issue with many senior South African rugby players who rest on their laurels and get a big head. He has not been managed properly especially by hi agent. He is not our best wing at the moment and of he is class he will rebound.
Skop has a very valid point. Many of our players dont pass the ball. Look at the Lions game where they should have won but they failed to pass the ball to the man on the outside. The lions are now technically the best backline as they draw the players and then pass and even move in field and simply not like the Sharks who just passed the ball to Mvovo who got man and ball.
My chant used to be
ass the ball to Breyten now its Pass the fucjking ball to Gio….
8 Mar 2011, 09:12 am
@Zinto(Zinto)-16: ag c’mon don’t be over sensitive if a player is sh*it we are entitled to say so. Are you trying to tell me Rickey is playing well or Habs is playing well, if you are you are a fn twa*t who knows nothing about rugby. Get a grip fnut.
8 Mar 2011, 09:19 am
Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie, Juan de Jongh, Gio Aplon, Joe Pietersen (2010)…
How many more creative players do you want?
8 Mar 2011, 09:20 am
WC choice of wings at the moment (if fit) would be
JP
Hougaard
Aplon
Odwa
Mvovo
Gerhard
Habadonna doesn’t deserve a spot
8 Mar 2011, 09:25 am
the wingers with the sharks are looking the best, probably because the centers pass the ball and use great width on the field.
wp and bulls have the same problem…not enough quick ball, and 1st center doesn’t pass.
regardless, a wingers selection should always be based on specific facts.
his form, his speed and how many tries he’s scoring.
Habana is poor in all these aspects and experience is just not a criteria to consider when selecting a winger.
much like campese in the ’95 worldcup.
8 Mar 2011, 09:27 am
@Honkie(Honkie)-34:
morne steyn wasn’t the problem with the bulls this past weekend….olivier butchered any number of opportunities by not passing.
8 Mar 2011, 09:40 am
@foreverrugga(foreverrugga)-40:
As a comparison for NZ;
Gear
Jane
Dagg
Siti
Ranger
Rocket
Guilford
8 Mar 2011, 09:46 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl)-42: They are both k@k.
8 Mar 2011, 09:54 am
Habana’s pace has gone (and has been since 2008/9). That’s his biggest problem.
Simple really.
8 Mar 2011, 09:58 am
Old Shadow is playing well for the Bulls, maybe he deserves a crack at test level.
His defense has improved big time too.
8 Mar 2011, 10:10 am
@CenturionShark (aka LondonShark)(londonshark)-45:
i dunno about that.
he skinned Ryno Benjamin for pace against the cheetahs on saturday.
8 Mar 2011, 10:37 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-47:
I saw that, but old Ryno isn’t actually a flyer hey. I’m not saying Habana is slow, he just isn’t that quick any more. His crazy pace was his major asset.
He has no side step to counter his loss of pace too.
8 Mar 2011, 10:43 am
@CenturionShark (aka LondonShark)(londonshark)-48:
i reckon he’s pretty quick.
so do the lads on the sevens circuit
8 Mar 2011, 10:50 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-49:
True true, but what I mean is that there’s pace, and and there’s 2005-2007 Habana pace.
Hab’s lost his major weapon. He doesn’t have any other attacking skills to make up for this loss.
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