Bryan looks to break the barrier
20 Sep 2011
Bryan Habana says that regaining his form and confidence ahead of the quarter-finals is more important than breaking Joost van der Westhuizen’s try-scoring record.
Habana equalled Van der Westhuizen’s record of 38 tries in June 2010, but has failed to make the record his own in the subsequent 15 months. His coaches at the Boks and Stormers have continued to back him through a seemingly endless slump in form, and it hasn’t helped that the once match-winning winger has been further inhibited by injuries over the past two years.
The Springboks hammered Namibia when the two teams last met in 2007, and are expected to annihilate their southern African neighbours in this Thursday’s Pool D clash at North Harbour Stadium. Habana is expected to break Van der Westhuizen’s record as the Boks rack up some big numbers, but as the player himself admits, it would only signify a smalll step in the right direction.
The Bok No 11 was a bundle of energy at Monday’s training session in Taupo. On Tuesday, he spoke with the same degree of enthusiasm about the next two pool games, and the unexpected quarter-final clash with Tri-Nations opponents Australia.
Habana is itching to get on the park, and while the record is certainly on his mind, he is more determined to get some game minutes under his belt before the Boks come up against better teams in the play-offs.
‘For any guy coming back from injury it’s important to get your match fitness up as quickly as possible,’ Habana said. ‘After playing only three internationals [in 2011] prior to this, it’s not the best place to be. Your work on and off the field is pretty important. Your rehabilitation, the time you put in with the medical squad, the conditioning… and then getting onto the field and getting involved in the game as much as possible is crucial.
‘This is going to be a World Cup where come the knockout stages, it’s going to be very tight. But there are some big games before then. Namibia this week will be like a typical Currie Cup clash where guys are out to bruise one another. That Samoan game is not going to be easy either.
‘For me personally? Well you want to set yourself goals and you have certain standards that you want to live up to. Obviously I want to meet those standards and contribute to the Boks’ success.’
Habana tried to play down the record, suggesting that his job description entails more than just try-scoring.
‘I’ve always said during my time with the Springboks, it’s not about Bryan Habana the individual, it’s about what I can bring to the team. Whether that be by leadership, whether that be by scoring tries, whether that be by making a cross cover tackle, it’s about making a positive contribution.
‘If that 39th try comes, it comes, but if we beat Namibia 150-0 and I don’t score a try, I will still be happy. Obviously I want to score tries but I’ll be happy if I can contribute in any way to a win.’
The Boks are still without injured players Jean de Villiers, Victor Matfield, Butch James and Johann Muller. Habana has managed to shake the knee injury that precluded him from the big win over Fiji, but he now faces the challenge of finding form in the last two pool games. It will be even tougher for men like De Villiers, Matfield, James and Muller to strike form immediately when (or if) they return for the pool finale against Samoa.
Injuries have threaten to derail the Boks’ title defence, as has the poor planning of the coaching staff. Peter de Villiers had targeted the pool stages as an opportunity for his best side to build synergy and momentum, but hadn’t made allowances for injuries.
The Boks find themselves in a difficult situation, and the criticism is certainly warranted. Habana admitted that the pressure of public expectation and that exerted by the media is nothing compared to that within the team. The Boks realise that they haven’t been at their best, and are determined to use the remaining pool games to find form.
‘There’s always going to be criticism and pressure in international rugby, but the biggest pressure is the pressure we put on ourselves,’ he said. ‘We were a bit disappointed about how we played in Durban against the Aussies. The New Zealand game in PE was a great momentum-builder going into the World Cup, but then we were disappointed with the effort against Wales.
‘The pressure we put on ourselves to perform is greater than the [external] pressure we perceive or feel. We’ve set ourselves high standards and goals, and there’s no individual in the squad that doesn’t want to achieve those goals. [Former Bok coach] Jake White always said in his tenure that he’s looking for that perfect [golf] game of 59. Hopefully we as players, and especially we as leaders, can set the standards, and the youngsters can give us energy to achieve those goals.’
In the big games, the Boks have stuck to a game plan that focuses on domination at the tackle point, aggressive defence and the kick-chase. It’s a strategy that’s susceptible if certain players aren’t accurate on the day.
The Boks’ inability to vary their tactics in the last couple of seasons has been their downfall, and the six-try display against Fiji shouldn’t kid people into believing that this team is capable of breaching top teams’ defences with a running game.
Their approach can, however, be particularly effective in bad weather. Habana said that teams that don’t adapt to the conditions in New Zealand, which are wont to change from day to day, and in places like Wellington from hour to hour, they will not go very far in this tournament.
He also cited the Ireland vs Australia game as example of how a team was exposed for their lack of versatility.
‘The weather conditions have at times prevented spectacular running rugby, but that’s the nature of the game in New Zealand. You have to be able to adapt. To have that variation in your game, to have a Plan B, is important.
‘If you look at what happened in the Ireland vs Australia game, the conditions weren’t suited to running rugby and Ireland, coming from the northern hemisphere, were able to play to those conditions. So it’s the team that adapts to the situation on the day that’s going to be able to come out on top.’
Habana also didn’t seem too concerned that that result has set up a quarter-final meeting with Australia. The Boks would have been favourites to beat Ireland in the quarters, but now their likely opponents, the Aussies, will have the mental edge over the South Africans having beaten them twice in the recent Tri-Nations tournament.
‘For us, we now know that if we want to win the title we’re going to have to beat some of the best teams in the world,’ Habana said. ‘But we can only worry about that when we get there. We have to play Namibia this week and Samoa could be a big pool decider.
‘History shows that you have to win all your games to win the title, but there is always an opportunity that if it doesn’t happen, you can still rewrite the history books. We’re going to focus on Namibia first, but [looking forward to Australia] it is a great challenge and we’re excited about it.’
By Jon Cardinelli, in Taupo
33 Comments
20 Sep 2011, 01:50 am
Old Dragon. The “Habenero” has losts its kick and heat.
20 Sep 2011, 03:40 am
Very Happy with this team selection
20 Sep 2011, 04:46 am
Go Brian, it will eventually click again dude.
You can’t fault this blokes effort. Maybe he is trying tooo hard, maybe he should chill a bit, stress less and the white line will come?
20 Sep 2011, 04:52 am
‘For any guy coming back from injury it’s important to get your match fitness up as quickly as possible,’ Habana said.
Aish Bryan, you were out for one week and you make it sound like 6 months.
Sad to say though that he had 2 years to get back his form and confidence and we know how well that all worked out! Now he wants us to believe the next 2 games is the real deal?
I for one hopes he does but his track record says otherwise…besides, scoring a brace of tries gainst Namibia is not going to proof anything.
20 Sep 2011, 07:07 am
FFS he shouldn’t be in the team. He should be at home brushing his dentures and going for walks in his stroller.
20 Sep 2011, 07:28 am
gillette used to have habana, federer, tiger & henry as their poster boys, four years later they’re all up to sshit
20 Sep 2011, 08:04 am
Never been a favourite of mine, there’s something “gold-toothed” about him, nonetheless, he does try hard however, Namibia is not the answer for his lack of tries, the new bok game plan is.
20 Sep 2011, 08:04 am
Transie: molo mfodini. I agree that gillette ad killed many careers! lol
20 Sep 2011, 08:16 am
Go Brian! I am greatfull for your unselfish attitude playing for the Boks all these years. Your commitment and passion for the Bok jersey has been an example for all to see. The try saving tackles against the ABs in PE also showed your cover defense and speed are still up there. In the free flowing game expected against Namibia on Thursday, the try scoring will start to some right I believe. Just stick to what your doing, and enjoy your rugby, the rest will take care of itself.
20 Sep 2011, 08:20 am
@Craven(Craven)-9: haha, maybe scoring against naminia and getting the m on key off his back will set him free?
20 Sep 2011, 08:24 am
“If that 39th try comes, it comes, but if we beat Namibia 150-0 and I don’t score a try, I will still be happy. Obviously I want to score tries but I’ll be happy if I can contribute in any way to a win.’
I’d be very unhappy if we beat Namibia 150-0 and Brian’s not on the scoring sheet. I’d probably drop him too, if it was up to me. But I get what he’s saying…
20 Sep 2011, 08:37 am
Who cares about try 39…??? Not me…
I want Habana to get his mojo back and break his and Jonah’s record for tries in a world cup tourney…!!!
20 Sep 2011, 08:41 am
@ufo(ufo)-12:
Been long overdue to gets that mojo back. His fans have waited for two seasons.
20 Sep 2011, 08:55 am
@Great White Shark(Predawn)-13:
yeah it has… but i’m one of those who believes class is permanent and form temporary…
and the thing about habana that everyone overlooks… he has NEVER stopped trying….
other guys lose form and you see them taking it easy… putting on weight etc… but habana works so hard right throughout every single game… whether the ball comes his way or not…
that says a lot about the guy to me…
20 Sep 2011, 09:00 am
@ufo(ufo)-14: He has never stopped trying, but he has stopped succeeding. The biggest favour anyone could have done for guys like Smit and Habana was drop them from the first team at their provinces and made them fight for their places again.
20 Sep 2011, 09:04 am
@mpundulu(mpundulu)-8: molo mhlekazi.
20 Sep 2011, 09:12 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-15: exactly, but that is NOT the south african way, players – especially the 2007 wc winning class – get mollycoddled back into form. in 2008 he was rubbish, 2009 he showed signs of improvement, 2010, 2011 he was/is back to rubbish.
20 Sep 2011, 09:20 am
i still rate this guy.
we need him.
there is no-one else in SA close to him… imo.
20 Sep 2011, 09:30 am
I wish Brian would stop obsessing about this try number 39! FFS! Just play the game.
20 Sep 2011, 09:32 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-15: That would have been the reality check they needed, but now it’s too late.
20 Sep 2011, 09:38 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-15: that’s why it took a kiwi in Plumtree to sit Smit on his arse on the bench and ride it for 78 min is a do-or-die game against the bulls at loftus. plum knew he didn’t need the “aura”, he needed bissy to dominate and give them an edge and voila…victory.
20 Sep 2011, 09:40 am
well if you can’t get no 39 against namibia then it’s time to hang up your boots and go into politics.
20 Sep 2011, 10:23 am
@Gunther(gunther)-22:
politics? why not business or some such?
or at at the very least there’s always ‘life as a supersport presenter’…
20 Sep 2011, 14:16 pm
They must feed Habana as many tries as possible just like they did Nokwe v Wallabies 2008. Anything less than a hat-trick and I’d call it a failure. Let us not put the curse on him but I see him getting well over that especially with Frans Steyn’s beautiful passing game.
20 Sep 2011, 14:21 pm
Playing provincial rugby for the “Tafelberg bobbejane” is not helping Habana’s rugby either…
20 Sep 2011, 14:22 pm
@Craven(Craven)-9:
Agree with this. He was impressive in PE. Hougaard is however the form Bok wing.
I am happy with this team – even with Smit starting again (due to the fact that PdV stated that John will be needing rest soon after playing all games this year) – hopefully John can rest in the last three games of the world cup
Boks very rarely get to play a real proper minnow, unlike the ABs who “somehow” manage to play them often.
20 Sep 2011, 15:04 pm
@Kobus Kitty(Kobus Kitty)-26: Agree. He looked like his old self in PE, but against Wales we saw the same old Habana.
Ndungane probably will never have his pace, try scoring or even intercept abilities, but he plays with passion and gets involved. Habana used to be like that years ago.
I’m happy with him trying to get his form back, but will PDV accept it if he fails to do so in the next 2 games?
20 Sep 2011, 15:09 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-10: As it is going now, Fourie will break that record before Habana does.
20 Sep 2011, 18:20 pm
Very clever move by PDV. With Frans Steyn at 12 the backline is sure to fire again and allow Habana to score a few tries. Very clever plan by PDV to build Habanas confidence up before before the quarters!!! Lets hope F Steyn remains at 12!!
20 Sep 2011, 20:34 pm
Hey all, just come off an early morning
Skype with Snorre. He’s come up with
Quite a Radical Idea…….
20 Sep 2011, 21:17 pm
Habs should have spent the last couple of years learning some passing and stepping skills so that he could make the move to centre as he lost his pace.
21 Sep 2011, 02:55 am
@Kobus Kitty(Kobus Kitty)-26: “Boks very rarely get to play a real proper minnow, unlike the ABs who “somehow” manage to play them often.”
1995 Romania, Canada.
1999 Uruguay, Spain.
2003 Uruguay, Georgia.
2007 USA.
2011 Namibia.
I excluded all Pacific islanders from that list.
Now NZ during that time
1995 Japan.
1999 – (I do not think Italy are “proper minnows, ABs thrash them though but they do thrash pretty much anybody else then)
2003 Canada.
2007 Romania, Portugal.
2011 Japan, Canada.
8 “proper minnows” for South Africa vs 6 for NZ.
Now the million dollar question:
Who are you trying to fool?
21 Sep 2011, 08:16 am
@Kobus Kitty(Kobus Kitty)-26: For once I was not lazy and especially for you wrote down all teams both met in pool stage during 1995-2011 WCs.
SA – Australia, England (2), Wales, Scotland, Samoa (3), Fiji, Tonga, Romania, Canada, USA, Georgia, Uruguay (2), Namibia, Spain.
NZ – France, England, Ireland, Wales (2), Scotland, Italy (3), Tonga (3), Canada (2), Japan (2), Romania, Portugal.
So
1st tier nations SA 5 vs NZ 6
Italy+PIs SA 5 vs NZ 6
Proper minnows SA 8 vs NZ 6.
As you see in each and every cathegory South Africa have got rub of the green – less major powers, less average powers and more proper minnows.
So I have to wonder what makes you think you are surrounded by complete fools who cannot verify myths you are spreading. Next time try to be more careful.
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