Ken Borland

Springbok great Bryan Habana spent enough time playing in Europe to know exactly what it would entail for South African rugby to ditch Sanzaar and move into Northern Hemisphere competitions, and the 2007 World Cup winner is not totally sold on the idea, he said on Wednesday.

There has been global speculation that the world champions will leave Sanzaar after the 2023 World Cup to play in an expanded Six Nations tournament as well as their SuperRugby franchises joining European competitions like the Pro14 and Champions Cup. There has also been talk emanating from Australia of Sanzaar excluding teams from both South Africa and Argentina and focusing on just a trans-Tasman competition with New Zealand.

Habana, who scored a South African record 56 SuperRugby tries for the Bulls and Stormers, finished his career spending five years playing for Toulon so he has intimate knowledge of European competition.

“There’s been a lot of debate about South Africa joining the Northern Hemisphere but right now nobody even knows when rugby will be back in South Africa. Probably the one thing most needed by rugby is a global season. But I suppose the one question is whether Sanzaar need SA Rugby, they have been an important part of Sanzaar for the last 25 years.

“For those in the UK and Europe it’s much easier to watch games in South Africa than those in New Zealand or Australia. But it’s important to see where the Springboks and SuperRugby teams could fit in and they would have to fit in with the Northern Hemisphere schedule. I don’t see our guys enjoying playing in 5⁰ in December/January and how are our rugby fans going to enjoy watching rugby over Christmas when they’re on holiday?” Habana said on Wednesday in a virtual press conference to announce the launch of MatchKit.co, a mobile tech platform intended to help athletes grow their commercial brands, set up by the Retroactive agency of which he is a partner.

There have also been suggestions South African teams could play in both Sanzaar and the Northern Hemisphere, expanding the current involvement of the Free State Cheetahs and the Southern Kings in the Pro14, but Habana said the workload on the players even if they were just involved in Europe would be immense.

“When Toulon won the double in 2014/15 they played more than 40 games and player welfare is important. If we’re going to add four more teams and include the Springboks in the Six Nations then that would mean even more matches. There are advantages to both hemispheres, the players would learn more about foreign conditions and that allows you to develop more as a rugby player and as a person.

“To say who has the better standard of play though is very subjective because what determines a good standard? The Northern Hemisphere has come strongly to the fore in the last few years: In the 2015 World Cup the top four sides were all from the Southern Hemisphere, but in 2019 it was very different [England, New Zealand, Wales, South Africa]. Hopefully our decision-makers will choose what is best for the game as a whole,” Habana said.

Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen

Your decision to sign with Racing Metro must have been a tough one. What were the key factors that made up your mind?

A: Big decisions such as this one are never easy, but I decided to take this opportunity as I would love to experience a different culture, on the field and away from it, work on certain aspects of my game, and, as the World Cup will be played in the Northern Hemisphere, give myself the opportunity to get used to the playing conditions over there while pushing for a place in the squad.

There are a lot of South Africans playing in France and it is obviously a strong league. Do you believe playing in those conditions will improve your game and are there any particular areas you’re looking to improve in?

A: Yes, I do think so. One area which I can still improve in is my tactical kicking and as it’s vital to be able to kick well in those conditions, I think I will definitely benefit from moving to France.

Were any players influential in your move?

A: I chatted to Bernard le Roux and Francois van der Merwe, Flip’s brother, about playing over there and both of them recommended it highly.

You were in France last year with the Springboks, what were the main attractions for you?

A: Paris is obviously a magnificent city and I’m looking forward to getting to know it much better, but the main thing is the rugby and I’m going to work very hard to make my move to Racing a success.

You were something of a schoolboy prodigy. Tell us about your early days and who was the most influential person in your boyhood career?

A: My earliest memories involve rugby so I started playing when I was still very young. Two people have made a massive difference in my rugby career and also my life. One is my dad, who always supports me and gave me the best possible chances in life. And the other is Mr Basson from Burgersdorp Primary School. He made the very important decision to move me from flank to flyhalf and started moulding me into what I am today. And then it was very enjoyable being at Grey College, where you can just live for rugby and wearing their jersey was always a highlight for me.

Do you have any role-models as a flyhalf?

A: I think Jonny Wilkinson was the most complete flyhalf. But comparing yourself to other flyhalves, which happens constantly in South Africa, creates pressures that I don’t need. I’m not going to change my natural game because that’s what got me picked and Heyneke’s always saying that too. I have to keep working hard and trust myself.

You’re just 21 years old and already playing international rugby, how special does that feel?

A: Just like all players, it was my ultimate goal to represent my country at the top level one day. But I’m just trying to stay humble and be grateful for everything I do. I was the youngster coming into the Springbok squad and I was all ears, learning as much as I could.

Apart from rugby, what hobbies do you have?

A: I really enjoy Golf and horse-riding and I also go hunting quite a bit. While I was injured last year, I had to keep myself busy and I spent a lot of time at a farm in Bloemfontein riding and grooming horses.

After making your debut in 2012, you missed most of 2013 because of injury, how frustrating was that?

A: It was disappointing not to play any Test rugby last year, but I was privileged to go on the tour to Europe in November and that was a great experience, I really learned a thing or two.

Finding common ground with the Super Rugby franchises and northern hemisphere clubs who have potential Springboks will be Heyneke Meyer’s priority, the new South Africa coach said on Monday.

Meyer was appointed on Friday as former coach Peter de Villiers’ successor and will be tasked with rebuilding a Springbok team that has lost stalwarts in captain John Smit and vice-captain Victor Matfield, while the international futures of stars such as Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Danie Rossouw, Gurthro Steenkamp and Francois Steyn are in doubt because they are based overseas.

This year’s SuperRugby competition runs from February through to August, with Meyer’s first assignment sandwiched in the middle as England visit South Africa for three tests in June.

“SuperRugby is going to put pressure on. All of the franchises want to win, I’m realistic enough to know that, so it’s a big challenge. But it’s also the first year that there are three tests in the middle of the competition and there is no successful method to go back and see what works.

“It’s a fresh challenge and I would like to have a national planning session. I’m on good terms with most of the franchise coaches and I want to see if we can come to a win/win situation, especially in terms of conditioning, which will require a big step up,” Meyer told reporters in Pretoria on Monday.

“I also want to see if it’s possible for me to go overseas and speak to the players there. I’ve spoken to a lot of agents to see who’s available and who’s not available, but we have some quality players overseas.

“The conditioning of the players in the northern hemisphere is one of my concerns. The Heineken Cup is a very tough competition and a lot of the players are conditioned very well, but they peak at different times and I have a few ideas I need to discuss with them and the clubs, again to see if we can come to a win/win situation.”

Meyer stressed that it was also up to the players to show mental toughness in the face of playing schedules that have become more and more demanding.

“We need to rotate players better at SuperRugby level, but I’m also a big believer in mental toughness and the more the players hear and read about burnout, the more they believe it. We can’t make excuses about conditioning, we need to plan and manage our players better,” Meyer said.

The former Bulls director of rugby said one of his other immediate tasks will be to study current rugby trends and make sure the Springboks adapt to the changes in the game.

“I’ve studied a lot of rugby lately and the game changes every six months with the new law interpretations. If you’re not adapting to those changes, you’re going to be left behind.

“The one definite thing that has to change is our conditioning. The guys are playing much more rugby and the game is much quicker; most tests are lost in the last 10 minutes, so you need athletic players.

“It will be important for me to do a lot of research because the game has definitely changed. It’s imperative, though, that we still use our strengths to our advantage and the basics are always the same. We have our own style and we must stick to that.

“I would like to install a national style of play and defence, but I’m realistic enough to know that you can’t force it,” Meyer said.