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.
Congratulations Bryan and well done Whitely, could get his first cap.
All I could see was Ruan…..
But yes, it will be good to see Warren get a run…
Whiteley to become a “bly gemaakte troep”?
To all my Rugby-Talk “vitual friends”, many thanks for the good wishes during my recent “incapacitation”.
I sincerely hope that my k@k is behind me and that I can get some sh1t done and work up to date.
@ Scrumdown:
Hopefully things look up from here on in, vat dinge rustig
Good to see the wunderkind (Wonder what he did to become a bok) is not in the 23.
They still need to get rid of Jannie, Ruan and JDV.
I would have play De Allende in place of JDV and made Strauss captain
5 @ nortierd:
Thanks Nortierd. Will try but it’s not in my nature to be a laid back & ballas bak.
However, as the learned doc pointed out, I can’t get F-All done lying in a hospital bed!
Would love to see Senatla playing for the real boks at the year end tour.
Scrumdown wrote:
Hi Scrummie
Missed it! What’s wrong?
Good luck with recovery.
“Whitely was so impressive holding tackle bags in last weeks training, indeed it built a lot of character, we could not leave him out of the matchday squad” – HM?
@ Snoek:
Burst artery in nose.
Cauterised a week and a half ago, then burst again on Sat’ morning 3am.
Emergency op in PTA where they basically tried an embolization through the groin.
Out of theatre for 30 minutes and the bleeding started again.
Basically the bleeding was coming from the artery that comes from the eye, and which can’t be closed off otherwise blindness occurs.
According to the radiologist that did the embolization, only about 1 in 30 patients have the problem in this particular artery.
So it was a question of stopping the bleeding using a catheter to put pressure on the artery and over the course of 3 days reduce the pressure and see if the wound has healed.
Now I need to keep the scabs moist to prevent them from coming off and repturing the artery again.
If it starts again it’s evidently a “moerse” op to fix it with surgery.
You’ve never seen bright red arterial blood streaming from a nose like that before. Sh1t, it just doesn’t stop.
Lost 3 pints of blood in about 45 minutes on Sat’ morning!
Jan 13, JDv 12… eish
Flo, Duane, Marcell… might work against the Aussies, wont work against the Kiwis
Adriaan Strauss… YES
Matfield and Eben… YES
Go Bokke!
11 @ Scrumdown:
Morning SD,
Hope you are well today. Must be really scary when that happens to you. Are you Haemophilic?
At least I now know that I support the correct Rugby team.
My blood is definetely RED.
13 @ MacroBok:
No. Thank goodness.
Would probably be in a box by now if I was!
15 @ Scrumdown:
So it can happen to anyone
Welcome back, Scrumdown. Glad for Whitely. Hope the Bokke can win this one.
17 @ Lion4ever:
Can’t see why they can’t beet the Aussies.
The team with the majority black clobber though may be a somewhat different proposition!
Scrumdown wrote:
beet = BEAT.
(without the root. (beetroot))
Wish you a speedy recovery, Scrumdown
@ MacroBok:
I (almost, but for 1) wholeheartedly agree with you.
Pity also about Malherbe’s injury; would’ve liked to see him start at tight head (he’s another player seemingly prone to injury – perhaps he is a bit top heavy & can benefit from some loss of mass?)
I’m apprehensive about this match …
@ Angostura:
The front row is a difficult one, can we get one over the Aussies? Maybe, will it give us a false sense when we play the All Blacks? Probably.
One thing is for sure, as a backlien player all my life I cared very little for scrums other than “oh shit this is going to be a long day” when they are getting pummeled.
The All Black vs the Argentinian 1st scrum is going to be epic. (or a letdown)
Just throwing it out there, but Hougaard at 13?
@ Scrumdown:
I agree. However, rugby is a funny old game. Sometimes played more between the ears than the lines.
Just hope that HM gives WW at least 15-20 minutes, and not a token 3-4 minutes.
Bok Outside Centre:
Announcing his 30th Bok starting XV, HM has now selected 8 different #13’s of which only 2 are actual outside centres; here is HM’s starting selection track record re #13:
Jean de Villiers – 7 Tests
Jaco Taute – 3 Tests
Juan de Jongh – 2 Tests
JJ Engelbrecht – 9 Tests
Jacque Fourie – 3 Tests
JP Pietersen – 3 Tests
Damian de Allende – 2 Tests
& now, Jan Serfontein – 1st Test
HM likes to preach CONtinuity, but as regards (unlucky) #13 he is as fickle as a 15-year old girl …
I just cannot see two crashball inside centres working as an International quality centre pair vs. the #3 & #1 teams in the world.
Time for him to select specialist outside centres:
Jacque Fourie, Juan de Jongh, Paul Jordaan & Stokkies Hanekom would imo be a suitable pecking order.
Juan de Jongh has been fit, available (& good) all season – why doesn’t he get a look in?
Anyway, best of luck, Bokke – really hope you win this one!
@ MacroBok:
I have thought myself that Hougaard might prove to be a better #13 than a wing or scrummie
but
a Test is not place to conduct such an experiment.
Ticket Prices for SA’s RWC Pool B games are as follows:
v Samoa @ Villa Park – Class B = GBP 115; Class A = GBP 150
v Scotland @ St James Park – Class B = GBP 125; Class A = GBP 175
v USA @ Olympic Stadium – Class B = GBP 65; Class A = GBP 85
So if you want to watch all 3 games expect to dish out approx’ ZAR 5500 for Class B tickets or ZAR 7400 for Class A tickets. (@ ZAR 18 = GBP 1)
Tickets are on sale from 12 – 29 Sept to pre-registered supporters.
K@k and betaal?
Registration completed about a month ago. Now where’s that hidden stash of money?
@ Angostura:
Basically the only option is Kanipaas (JDJ), though he is having the best season of his career, just the Sharks game at newlands just reminded me of the player he is when the pressure is on.
Other than that
Jean de Villiers – Stopgap
Jaco Taute – Bad selection
JJ Engelbrecht – a RIDICULOUS drop of form this year in SR
Jacque Fourie – Injured
JP Pietersen – N/A
Damian de Allende – Mixed trial vs the Argies
& now, Jan Serfontein – Untested (though he played a game or two there for the Bulls)
Jordaan – Other than a magic moment here or there his balance leans heavily to “wtf did he just do?”
Stokkies – We all rate him, but for some reason he could not even crack the initial Lions SR squad this year.
Truth is we simply do not have anyone available that compares to AAC, Folatau or the Smith.
The question is should we select 15 players after comparing them man to man? or 15 players that gives us the best shot of winning?
Lion4ever wrote:
See my earlier comment about “bly gemaakte troep”.
HM brings WW on for 5 minutes when all is already either won or lost.
Irrespective of how WW plays it’s irrelevant.
WW gets a cap. HM can say that he doesn’t just call players up to have them fetch drinks and hold tackle bags, and the GLRU can boast they’ve “made” another Springbok through their hard development endeavours.
Does WW fit the typical HM blidside wing forward or 8th man playing philosophy?
OR, is HM going to ask his side to change the game plan to allow WW to play his normal game once he gets onto the field?
Answer these 2 questions honestly and we all know the chances of WW becoming a fixture in the green and gold.
“Whiteley, tel op jou streep by die stoor, en wees net bly!”
29 @ Scrumdown:
Why though? Who will HM impress by making WW a token bok? It does not make any sense.
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