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Bryan Habana

Perthshire

Perthshire

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Is Brian Habana the greatest South African ever to play the game??????????
 
No sure about that, but certainly he deserves massive plaudits for what he has achieved. If he passes Lomu's record he will absolutely deserve it - a truly great player and if anyone is to beat Lomu's record I will be glad it is Habana!!
 
Nowhere near the greatest, but an extraordinarily talented man in full flight.
 
No. He can run quick, that is about it.
 
Jeez theres so many better than Habana its not even funny. He's had a very good long career for a wing though thats for sure.
 
Depends on how you define great I guess. In terms of tries scored he is probably the greatest, but how do you compare him to a guy like Danie Gerber before the pro era?

Greatest bok? I don't know? Danie Craven?


Perthshire said:
Is Brian Habana the greatest South African ever to play the game??????????
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Interesting to know that Lomu got his 15 tries in 11 RWC matches while Habana has taken 15 matches. Not wanting to take anythiing away from Habana, more just remembering how great Lomu was!
 
I'm not saying he isn't great. I'm just saying I don't think he's the greatest. Lomu scored us heaps of tries, but he's not our best either IMO. He's probably the best in the world in terms of outright speed. I never thought his skills diversified beyond that.
 
Take nothing away from Habana, he has been a brilliant servant of the game and has had some amazing highs as well as some very mediocre seasons.

To compare him to Lomu is perhaps a stretch. Lomu's 15 tries come off just 10 games and 2 WC's. (Including 4 tries against England In the 1995 semi)

This is Habana's 3rd WC and I'm sure he has played far more than 10 matches to achieve his 15 tries.

In addressing who is the greatest I think it depends on the era. The game has evolved so much and especially in the pro era. I would rate a few players for this accolade. Keeping in mind that they each had different strengths that set them apart. Os du Rand, Joost vd Westhuizen, Mark Andrews, Andre Joubert, John Smit.

Then there is the cold years (1970's and 80's) when SA didn't get to participate fully on the international scene. There were some very talented players in that era who just never got the opportunities yet were giants of their time. Uli Schmidt, Danie Gerber, Rob Louw, Louis Moolman, Theuns Stofberg, Moaner V Heerden, Gerrie Germishuys, Morne du Plessis, Piet Visagie, Jan Ellis, Hannes Marais.

And the there is the unluckiest non-springbok of all time - Thys Lourens.
 
To point this out - he did beat Lomu's record of tries scored in a Rugby World Cup...

But he did have an extra World Cup to do it in. (above poster beat me to it)

I like Habana a lot. I think it's not so much his speed which is why he is rated - it's that he doesn't really have a weakness to his game. He tackles well, offers great support play, is one of the best I've seen in the kick and chase. I'm hoping for him to beat Ohata's record before he retires. Doesn't mean to think I don't think there have been several better wingers than Habana (although he certainly gets points for longevity in a position in which speed is incredibly important).
 
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Ospervat said:
Take nothing away from Habana, he has been a brilliant servant of the game and has had some amazing highs as well as some very mediocre seasons.

To compare him to Lomu is perhaps a stretch. Lomu's 15 tries come off just 10 games and 2 WC's. (Including 4 tries against England In the 1995 semi)

This is Habana's 3rd WC and I'm sure he has played far more than 10 matches to achieve his 15 tries.

In addressing who is the greatest I think it depends on the era. The game has evolved so much and especially in the pro era. I would rate a few players for this accolade. Keeping in mind that they each had different strengths that set them apart. Os du Rand, Joost vd Westhuizen, Mark Andrews, Andre Joubert, John Smit.

Then there is the cold years (1970's and 80's) when SA didn't get to participate fully on the international scene. There were some very talented players in that era who just never got the opportunities yet were giants of their time. Uli Schmidt, Danie Gerber, Rob Louw, Louis Moolman, Theuns Stofberg, Moaner V Heerden, Gerrie Germishuys, Morne du Plessis, Piet Visagie, Jan Ellis, Hannes Marais.

And the there is the unluckiest non-springbok of all time - Thys Lourens.
Click to expand...

Lomu 15 tries in 11 RWC matches - Habana 15 tries in 15 matches. Perhaps the more interesting comparison is that the majority of Lomus tries came against tier 1 nations (13), while I believe Habana has only scored 3 against tier one nations.

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TRF_nickdnz said:
To point this out - he did beat Lomu's record of tries scored in a Rugby World Cup...

But he did have an extra World Cup to do it in.
Click to expand...

No, not yet anyway! They are tied on 15 now.
 
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ABs2011 said:
Lomu 15 tries in 11 RWC matches - Habana 15 tries in 15 matches. Perhaps the more interesting comparison is that the majority of Lomus tries came against tier 1 nations (13), while I believe Habana has only scored 3 against tier one nations.

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No, not yet anyway! They are tied on 15 now.
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Yes...It might have been interesting if Lomu had played in the 145 point rout of Japan in 1995.
 
Habana may well be the best wing ever in SA but not anywhere near the best winger in the world. As far as the best player for SA ever not in my life time. I think
Joost vd Westhuizen is. Won't comment about the years they were out in the cold.
 
Fard said:
Habana may well be the best wing ever in SA but not anywhere near the best winger in the world. As far as the best player for SA ever not in my life time. I think
Joost vd Westhuizen is. Won't comment about the years they were out in the cold.
Click to expand...
Joost was my favourite player as well - he was amazing! SA have had many great players, so hard to pick a sinlge one, but Joost was a joy to watch!
 

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