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Stephen Nell
Edinburgh – Just one try in the Green and Gold, and Bryan Habana will be back to his old self.
That was the prediction on Monday from Springbok coach Peter de Villiers when quizzed on what it would take to revitalise Habana at international level.
Habana needs only one try to become the lone record holder for most Test tries for the Springboks. He currently shares the record of 38 tries with Joost van der Westhuizen.
“Bryan is just trying too hard at the moment to get that one try that stands between him and the record,” said De Villiers.
“He should just calm down, do the right things at the right times and be in the right positions, and then everything will fall into place. We often see this with players that reach milestones. It also happened with Percy Montgomery, John Smit and Victor Matfield.
“That milestone draws so much energy out of you. I think everything will be back to normal if Bryan can just get one try. Just consider how well he played in the Currie Cup,” said De Villiers.
The coach added that Habana was still making a good contribution in the team context.
“He knows he is making mistakes on the field and trying too hard. We had a long chat on Sunday evening and Bryan understands that it’s about the team first.”
De Villiers was due to have a selection meeting on Monday evening. One possibility is to give Lwazi Mvovo a run on the left wing in place of Habana.
“We have seen that the younger players’ energy is infectious with the older guys. Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield have been revitalised.
Many people were of the opinion in the Super 14 that Victor is at the end of his career with Andries Bekker playing so well,” said De Villiers.
“If Andries can return at his best and we still have Victor, we will be in a good position.”
Edinburgh – Just one try in the Green and Gold, and Bryan Habana will be back to his old self.
That was the prediction on Monday from Springbok coach Peter de Villiers when quizzed on what it would take to revitalise Habana at international level.
Habana needs only one try to become the lone record holder for most Test tries for the Springboks. He currently shares the record of 38 tries with Joost van der Westhuizen.
“Bryan is just trying too hard at the moment to get that one try that stands between him and the record,” said De Villiers.
“He should just calm down, do the right things at the right times and be in the right positions, and then everything will fall into place. We often see this with players that reach milestones. It also happened with Percy Montgomery, John Smit and Victor Matfield.
“That milestone draws so much energy out of you. I think everything will be back to normal if Bryan can just get one try. Just consider how well he played in the Currie Cup,” said De Villiers.
The coach added that Habana was still making a good contribution in the team context.
“He knows he is making mistakes on the field and trying too hard. We had a long chat on Sunday evening and Bryan understands that it’s about the team first.”
De Villiers was due to have a selection meeting on Monday evening. One possibility is to give Lwazi Mvovo a run on the left wing in place of Habana.
“We have seen that the younger players’ energy is infectious with the older guys. Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield have been revitalised.
Many people were of the opinion in the Super 14 that Victor is at the end of his career with Andries Bekker playing so well,” said De Villiers.
“If Andries can return at his best and we still have Victor, we will be in a good position.”
