Bryan Habana to become Springbok Centurion No 4.
Bryan Habana will on Saturday become the fourth Springbok and 33rd player overall to play in 100 Tests when South Africa take on Australia in the third round of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship at Patersons Stadium in Perth (kickoff 12h05 SA time).
The 31-year-old Habana, who made his debut for South Africa against England at Twickenham on 20 November 2004, holds the record for the most Test tries in a Springbok jersey. His 56 Test tries places him fourth on the list of all-time international try scorers.
The three-time South African Rugby Player of the Year (2004, 2007 and 2012), who was also named the IRB Rugby Player of the Year in 2007, will lead the Springboks out on Saturday as he follows Percy Montgomery, John Smit and Victor Matfield in amassing 100 Tests in the green and gold.
“This is an unbelievable achievement by Bryan, who is someone every South African can be immensely proud of,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
“Bryan is a true professional and someone who never gives anything but his best, on the field and off it. For him to reach this magnificent milestone is just reward for years of dedication and hard work.
“Apart from scoring tries and always giving 100% on the field, Bryan is also a humble servant to the game and a true ambassador for his family, his friends and his country. He will go down in history as one of the greatest rugby players of all time.
“He is always looking for improvement – I’ve never seen him play a bad game in the Springbok jersey.”
In total, the starting line-up shows six changes from the team which beat Argentina in Salta recently. Jan Serfontein and Morne Steyn will start in the backline, while Marcell Coetzee, Victor Matfield, Adriaan Strauss and Tendai Mtawarira have been included in the pack.
As a result of these changes, Bismarck du Plessis, Lood de Jager and Damian de Allende shift to the bench, while Trevor Nyakane, Marcel van der Merwe and Pat Lambie will join the uncapped Warren Whiteley on the bench.
“We were always planning in moving our personnel around during the competition,” said Meyer.
“The only new player in the team is Warren, whom I’m very happy for and excited to see what he can do. He covers all three positions in the loose trio and can make an impact later in the game.
“It’s also good to see Pat back in the frame. He’s completed his comeback from a long-term injury and will provide necessary bench cover for flyhalf and fullback.
“Saturday’s Test against Australia will take a massive effort from every member of our squad. We’re not looking at their recent result against New Zealand and we know they will be a tough opponent.
“Similarly, we need to move on from our victories over Argentina, which are now in the past. This is a new challenge and one we have to overcome to stay alive in the competition.”
Springboks:
15 Willie le Roux (17 Tests, 35 points)
14 Cornal Hendricks (5 Tests, 15 points)
13 Jan Serfontein (12 Tests, 5 points)
12 Jean de Villiers (Captain – 98 Tests, 125 points)
11 Bryan Habana (99 Tests, 280 points)
10 Morné Steyn (58 Tests, 670 points)
9 Ruan Pienaar (78 Tests, 135 points)
8 Duane Vermeulen (21 Tests, 10 points)
7 Marcell Coetzee (18 Tests, 20 points)
6 Francois Louw (32 Tests, 25 points)
5 Victor Matfield (Vice-captain – 113 Tests, 35 points)
4 Eben Etzebeth (25 Tests, 0 points)
3 Jannie du Plessis (56 Tests, 5 points)
2 Adriaan Strauss (36 Tests, 25 points)
1 Tendai Mtawarira (57 Tests, 10 points)
Replacements:
16 Bismarck du Plessis (62 Tests, 45 points)
17 Trevor Nyakane (5 Tests, 5 points)
18 Marcel van der Merwe (1 Test, 0 points)
19 Lood de Jager (5 Tests, 10 points)
20 Warren Whiteley (uncapped)
21 Francois Hougaard (29 Tests, 20 points)
22 Pat Lambie (32 Tests, 68 points)
23 Damian de Allende (2 Tests, 0 points)
Stats and facts:
- The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 725 Test caps (358 in the backline and 367 in the forwards), while there a further 136 caps worth of experience on the bench.
- South Africa and Australia have played each other 78 times since 1933, with the Springboks winning 44 Tests, losing 33 and one was drawn. The Springboks have scored 1,501 points and 179 tries and conceded 1,357 points and 139 tries for an average score of 19-17.
- South Africa and Australia last met on 28 September 2013 at DHL Newlands in Cape Town, when the Springboks won 28-8.
- Bryan Habana will be playing in his 100th Test for South Africa, making him only the fourth Springbok in history to reach this milestone. The others are Victor Matfield (113), John Smit (111) and Percy Montgomery (102).
- Habana will also extend his record as the most-capped Springbok wing, with 98 Tests in this position and if he scores a try, will extend his record of 56 Test tries for South Africa as well as his Castle Lager Rugby Championship record of 18 tries and will extend his own SA record of nine career tries against Australia.
- Jean de Villiers will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok centre, with 83 Tests in this position. He will also extend his own SA record of 46 Rugby Championship games and will captain South Africa for the 27th time – fourth behind John Smit (83), Gary Teichmann (36) and Francois Pienaar (29).
- Victor Matfield will extend his own record as the most capped Springbok in history (113 Tests). He will also be playing against Australia for the 25th time to become the sole holder of the record he shared with John Smit previously.
- Morné Steyn will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok flyhalf, with 56 Tests in this position. If he scores a try, he will also extend his record of eight Test tries as a flyhalf for South Africa. Steyn scored 137 points in his career against Australia, just three points short of Percy Montgomery’s record of 140 points. He will also extend his own career record for most conversions (16), most penalty goals (32) and most drop goals (3) against Australia.
- If he goes on and scores a try, Bismarck du Plessis will extend his own record of eight test tries for South Africa as a hooker.
- If he goes on Warren Whiteley will become Springbok No 863.
- The referee is George Clancy of Ireland and this will be his ninth Test involving South Africa. In the previous eight South Africa have won six and lost two. His last Test was on 7 September 2013 in the corresponding game of last year’s tournament at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane when the Springboks beat the Wallabies 38-12.
Springbok Test match records at Paterson Stadium, Perth (previously known as Subiaco Oval):
- Most points – 15 by Joost van der Westhuizen (3t) against Uruguay on 11 October 2003.
- Most tries – three by Joost van der Westhuizen against Uruguay on 11 October 2003.
- Most conversions – five by Louis Koen against Uruguay on 11 October 2003.
- Most penalty goals – three by Percy Montgomery against Australia on 18 July 1998; by Braam van Straaten against Australia on 18 August 2001; by Percy Montgomery against Australia on 31 July 2004 and by Percy Montgomery against Australia on 20 August, 2005.
- Most drop goals – one by Percy Montgomery against Australia on 20 August 2005.
- This will be the Springboks’ 10th Test overall at Patersons Stadium in Perth since 1998. In the previous nine, South Africa have won four, lost four and one was drawn. The Springboks have scored 214 points (24 tries) with 174 points against (16 tries). It is a winning percentage of 44% and an average score of 24-19.
@ Nama:
Why does he do that?
Because of “targets”?
@ gunther:
88 We also chaw and spit baccy.
@ gunther:
“Maybe Meyer is sensitive to criticism of the average age of his squad and playing someone called Oupa would just give the critics too much ammunition?”
Still too much of a coward to give your real opinion. 🙄
@ Nama:
Which players of darker hue in the current squad are getting no game time?
Oupa and ?
Off to dentist.House of horrors.
@ Nama:
Not at all.
I don’t read anything sinister into it.
You are the last person here to be talking about cowards.
😆
@ ryecatcher:
Yes, indeed
& my wife is Sagittarius – outgoing, optimistic, adventurous, well-liked.
But also a tough cookie …
Both Scrumdown & Nama are correct:
HM is not serious about either Oupa or Warren;
When the chips are down, neither of them will make it into a 30-man RWC2015 Bok squad.
They are just fillers, stopgaps in the current Bok squad, whilst their interests & the interests of their provinces would’ve been better served had they been playing CC rugby.
imo
@ Nama:
Its simple really Nama, there is no other replacement for Duanne if he goes down. We don’t have another 8 replacement in the whole squad with Alberts injured.
Oupa is a 7/4 replacement whereas Whitely is a specialist 8.
Being such a technical position means that we need a person skilled in that position as replacement.
@ Angostura:
So who should he pick instead?
@ gunther:
Whoops, old Nama in trouble again. He really should refrain from such outbursts.
@ gunther:
If you’ve read my 1st statement about the issue carefully, you would’ve seen that I referred to all the squads that HM selects.
Good for you.
@ John Galt:
At least you are trying to give a logical reason unlike Gunther who is searching for something from me.
Well done.
The way I see it is that people get way too emotional.
JJE was selected and then dropped as a possible 13 replacement for Jacques Fourie…people generally ok with this.
JdJ gets selected then dropped in the same position…certain people lose their shit and say their is a hidden agenda.
When Serf eventually also has to make way for Fourie…people will generally be ok with this.
Note the difference in reactions from certain sections.
@ John Galt:
What “outbursts” are that?
A question about the preference of one player above the other by the coach?
In any squad there are going to be players who make up the numbers.
So Oupa has missed a few Currie Cup games do you think he has learned or experienced nothing of value by training with the Boks?
@ John Galt:
Hahahaha now you have ruined it.
Apparently the coach is a fool and fokken dom.
You mean those outbursts.
😆
Nizaam Carr should’ve been selected ahead of both Mohoje & Whiteley
but, if one wants to select Whiteley (a very good player) for THIS tour, then you play him as #8 in your starting team, with Vermeulen #7, Flow #6, with Marcell C. covering all 3 loose forward positions – he is pretty versatile having played in all of the loose forward positions.
#7 an important position – Vermeulen at 7 suits the Bok game better than Marcell at 7.
@ gunther:
Those are them.
He seems quite restrained here so lets give him the benefit.
For now.
@ Angostura:
I agree.
Marvell at 7 might work against the Ozzies but it defo won’t cut the mustard against the kiwis.
Hopefully we will see a combo of Vermullet Flo and Whitely in the second half.
And early on at that.
@ John Galt:
JJE, a winger, was selected 9 times at #13
JdJ, a #13, was selected twice only at #13
some are just more equal than others … when it gets to REAL opportunities at the highest level
@ gunther:
We’ve seen it in the past. Players going on Bok tours to learn from HM only to then come back to their provinces and be crap.
Ruhle (remember him?), Lambie, Coenie, De Allende (after sterling performances in SR being the latest when he returns).
@ Angostura:
I could go with that but you must remember that Carr is not even an 8. Hes a very good 6.
Yes he plays 8 now but I would hate for him to get into a one on one situation with Palu or Reid. Much rather have Thor marking those two.
104 @ John Galt:
One can always bend the facts to suit your agenda.
Are you really trying to suggest that JdJ and JJ were given equal opportunities by HM? Crap, even Taute, a full back, were given more opportunities by HM at 13 if I’m not mistaken.
@ Angostura:
Look Im the first to admit that Im a bit surprised that HM hasn’t called JdJ up yet. Maybe he will back at home. JdJ has played some great rugby recently.
My point is that there is no ulterior motive here that some people seem intent on proving. HM wants to try a few people out at 13 as backup to Fourie. That’s it. That’s all.
Nama wrote:
89
😆
HM just wants to keep the odds makers happy, as it stands now the Boks are at 1 to 1.1!
😉
@ Nama:
So who should be in the wider squad since it clearly destroys their game according to you.
Should we just pick a dozen guys off the street?
No man that’s just psychotic.
😆
OK, I have to log of. Something came up.
See laters.
Ok so the coach is a racist.
Problem solved then.
How can we get rid of him.
A parliamentary committee?
Security cluster intervention?
Public Protector?
@ gunther:
Ai, ai, ai…
You clearly don’t get it. You’re still young though. Hopefully you’ll get there one day. 😉
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