Bryan Habana at 13

Last year I had the temerity to suggest Habana might be the answer at 13.....or a least worth a try. I hated the thought of going to the RWC with a centre, Fury,  so slow off the mark at 13 that he couldn't back up any breaks. Besides which his hiding on the blindside when our opponents' backs had good ball was too hard to take. As was his incessant windmilling in place of actually tackling. Well we went with Fury and all he did of note was blow two great try scoring chances in our losing QF.

 Habana has lost pace and with that any desire to go for the outside line. But he enjoys contact, has hair trigger reactions and is plenty fast enough to play 13.  And Bryan seems to be having some success at 13 and is keen to play there. I think he could be a tough nut at 13, a bit like the older O Driscoll.

The proof is in the pudding but a Jean/ Bryan combo is a nice back up to my first choice Fransie/Jean combo and/or any combinations involving yet unproven youngsters.

Habana will never be in the same league as either Fourie or O'Driscoll. And with Jean inside of him he will have to strain to make an impression. He can review Fourie's tests and take notes.

Fury and Watson vie for the most overrated SA players since readmission.

Most overrated? Adi Jacobs, Honiball, Pretorius, Bekker, Krige, Conrad Jantjes, Willemse, Bands, Fleck, Chester Williams, Jean De Villiers, Watson, Stransky, Skinstad, Braam Van Straaten. That's a very complete list give or take a couple of names.

Most overrated SA rugby personality of all time?

Danie Craven as a coach. From in the vasthinter land of boer supremacy, he described the NZ part of the doomed 1956 tour as "Hell, sheer hell."

Waikato beat the Boks. NZ Universities beat the Boks. Canterbury beat the Boks. NZ beat the Boks 3-1.

Once the referees could not be bought by the broederbond, SA fell by the wayside.

Hece the inflated Springbok legend: swollen by forgeries of victories at home.

Greatest South African sports person of all time?

Nelson Mandela -- confined to Robbins Island to listen in his cell.

When we tossed the 1981 Boks out of NZ, we were theinternational lions of revolt.

 Nelson Mandela described it in his biography as the breakthrough that was to be a fatal hole in apartheid that would develop into a final defeat of racial supremacy.

Go Nelson. You loved your rugby. You paid the price. Happy Anniversay of your release.

Time to end the circus act Fred. Nelson Mandela is grossly overrated. As for your estimation of South Africa? First tackle the cheating of your own countrymen. Zero credible World Cup wins. South Africa on the hand have two. Both in spite of some dodgey ref calls. South Africa remains the real gem of world rugby. No other country could ever be as competitive with all the baggage. New Zealand buy the refs and still cannot outclass their opponents. Truly pathetic. A substandard rugby nation in an even more substandard region of planet Earth.

Did I hear someone whinge about regurgitating the past?

So Nelson Mandela is grossly over rated, der Aristokrat?

When you are gone and long forgotten, Nelson will be remembered every time a bank note changes hands. In history he is the greatest redeeming figure from the 20th Century -- the rest are the Hitlers and the Stalins and the Mao Tse Tungs.

We have finally flushed you two out.

I am here to flush out der blinkered bums who used to run South Africa during the pariah days -- your salad days, boys -- for that is what you are: wee boys playing in the sand pit of time, trying to ignore the greatness of your nemisis, Nelson Mandela.

Got you! Like an angler got the fish.

I've got UK citizens who are watching this channel giggling fit to bust at the way your kind rise to the surface like...is it blowfish or is it blowhard fish.

We've been winding you up to see your true colours. Not the jersey green of an honest rugby nation, but the green with envy of school boys because we keep beating you. 

NZ buys refs? Haaaaaaaaaaaahhhaaaaaaaaaaaah! Haaaaaaaaahhaaaaaaaaaaaah!

SA rugby refs once were for sale. You bought one, you got two free!

No longer. It was because of SA refs that neutral refereees were introduced.

Well, you lost the war against Nelson of Robbin Island and you lost the war against NZ rugby.

How we enjoyed your splutterings after the RWC. Nobody is listening to you, boys. Back to the sand pit, lads, back to the Rucking Bored. By your recent belittling of your greatest citizen, you are exposed and in the light of day.  

Nobody cares, mate. Yesterday's boys are today's fish and chip wrapping,

We won the first RWC, we won the last. We'll be happy to welcome you to London in 2015.

Sponge, in case you haven't noticed, this is a rugby forum. The Editor of this site has made it clear prior to you registering that it's not a forum to discuss politics or race.

Nelson Mandela was a 33rd Degree Freemason. Now go educate yourself further. Hopefully I flushed the kak from your head kiddo. Game, set and match.

"Nemisis".....bwaaaaahaha  poor Sponge.  At least get your punch line right you dope....the word is "nemesis". But more to the point this is a string on Habana at !3.

"Most overrated? Adi Jacobs, Honiball, Pretorius, Bekker, Krige, Conrad Jantjes, Willemse, Bands, Fleck, Chester Williams, Jean De Villiers, Watson, Stransky, Skinstad, Braam Van Straaten. That's a very complete list give or take a couple of names."........you say Aristo?

I agree with regard to Pretorius, Krige, Jantjies and Watson.

For the rest, Jacobs was a decent centre scorned by all, so I don't see how he could be overrated.

Honiball was our flyhalf through the 17 match winning streak and a tough nut. I will agree that he was never an attacking player of note, even if a highly reliable crash ball runner.

Bekker is a magnificent lock with a penchant for injuries....as a pure player he is if anything underrated....but not by Victor.

Willemse was a fine, aggressive wing, who wasn't the same after injury.

Bands was not a great scrummager, but no worse than a bunch of ordinary South African tightheads like CJ......his try running through Spencer was one of the classics.

Fleck is one of the very few outside centres who could actually take the outside gap....a dangerous player. His tackle of Herbert from behind in the 99 semi against Oz is one of the best I've seen.

The young Chester was a great competitor, who never let the side down....he lost gas early though.

Jean is a legend and along with Joubert our best since readmission. The only Bok who looked like scoring in the RWC quarter.

Stransky won a rugby world cup....and always looked like a flyhalf in his decision making. Most guys would have blown that drop.

Skinstad is a generational talent. The try he scored against Ireland picking the ball up at the base of a halfway line scrum, was the single best bit of forward running I have ever seen.....the pass to spring Big Joe against Oz, dripping with genius.

Braam was a plodder....but along with Jannie de Beer and Morne.....a triumvirate of kicking masters who could be relied on to make the kick, no matter what the pressure. Only Wilkinson is the early days came close.