Springboks legend Bryan Habana has praised the work of Rassie Erasmus and the impact his success with South Africa has had on the country.
A World Cup winner in 2007, Habana ranks the 2019 success of Erasmus and his men as the “best moment without a doubt” for South African rugby.
“What Rassie Erasmus has done has been phenomenal”
Saying as much as he discussed the success of the team on For the Love of the Game with Laura & Ally on Discovery+.
Comparing different generational teams is a tricky business with former All Blacks boss Ian Foster reluctant to do so earlier this week when asked about the 2015 All Blacks and the 2024 Springboks.
However, the 124-Test cap former winger and South Africa’s greatest-ever try scorer was far more bullish as he quickly pointed to the current generation as the Boks’ greatest ever.
He also feels that while the World Cup victory in 1995 was inspirational and 2007 the pinnacle for him as a player, the 2019 success was particularly special for the country.
“100%, it is, in my opinion, the best South African collective that we ever had, I mean back-to-back Worlds Cup, number one in the world and then this year we got three players nominated for World Rugby Player of the Year and what Rassie Erasmus has done has been phenomenal,” Habana said on the show hosted by Laura Woods and Ally McCoist and joined by Steve McManaman.
“I tell everyone, if you don’t come from South Africa, we’ve got a unique history, we are still so divided. Within the rugby context if another nation wins a Rugby World Cup you sort of have a parade like the English in ’03 or with New Zealand but South Africa has so much more that sport gives back.
“For me, 1995 was inspirational, 2007 as a player is almost the pinnacle but our best moment without a doubt is 2019, Siya Kolisi being the first African to not only captain his country but then win a World Cup, to have Makazole Mapimpi scoring a try and becoming the first South African to score a try in a Rugby World Cup final – which does not say anything about me because I played in the World Cup final,” he added jokingly.
“Siya was watching it in a shebeen”
Zoning in on why it was so special for so many South Africans, Habana recounted the story of Kolisi watching the 2007 World Cup and how he rose from a tough upbringing to becoming a double World Cup-winning Springboks captain.
“What that gave South Africa was that you had these true stories that spoke to 60, 70, 80% of our population I mean when we were winning a World Cup in ’07, Siya was watching it in a shebeen – which is like a local pub in the township – because his grandmother who was looking after him couldn’t afford satellite television. His dad was absent and was in a very violent environment,” he continued.
“He was going to a school not just to get an education but to get a meal because that’s the only meal he got. So now all of a sudden 2019 comes and these phenomenal superstars Cheslin Kolbe another try scorer in that 2019 final – think it was our most defining moment in terms of how far we’d come as a country and we’ve still got a lot of problems but the shining light that is the Springboks and what they’re doing at the moment under Rassie Erasmus, I think is just exceptional and long may continue.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/bryan-habana-this-is-the-best-springboks-collective-that-we-have-ever-had
