Springboks’ Bryan Habana downplays Wallabies mental edge in upcoming quarter-final clash
South Africa and Australia are scheduled to meet in the quarter-finals of the 2011 Rugby World Cup on October 9. With a couple of days remaining before the rugby union heavy-weights of the Southern Hemisphere will lock horns in the third quarter-final, the
off-field battle has already started.
Springboks’ World Cup wining winger, Bryan Habana, is the latest to join the battle of words as he denounced the Wallabies mental advantage over the Springboks. The 2011 Tri Nations champions, Wallabies, have handed defeat to the rugby world champions in
five of their last six games played against each other.
On Thursday, October 6, Habana played down the mental edge citing Wallabies shocking defeat suffered at the hand of Ireland, earlier in the tournament. He added, “They've got the edge over us at the moment, but in a knock-out game that means nothing.”
Habana further added, “Anything can happen in this competition but they're a great team and we can't doubt the fact that they've won five of the last six games and we have to give them credit for that, but we as a team firmly do believe we have the capabilities
to go out there and win on Sunday.”
Habana won the International Rugby Board Player of the Year award in 2007 as he helped his side win the 2007 RWC tournament after he scored eight tries in the tournament. He has expressed his confidence that the Springboks can manage to become the first
team in the history of the RWC to successfully defend the title and lift the golden cup for the third time in the tournament’s history.
The 28-year-old Habana stated that Sunday’s game will be a new match and the stats have little influence on the game. He added the team performing well in the 80 minutes of the game will progress through to the semi-finals. He added that the complete squad
believes that they can go all the way to lift the cup.
Habana has expressed his pleasure on the progress Springboks have made in the tournament. He recalled that the route to the 2007 RWC was very different and the fact that the Springboks were made to work hard in the 2011 RWC has positively affected their
performance.
Springboks had a poor build-up to the RWC tournament, as they lost three out of four 2011 Tri Nations encounters and with different injuries to number of their key players. However, following their close opening encounter against Wales, in which they held
their nerves to finish the game on top, they have constantly progressed in their remaining matches.
Earlier in the tournament, Habana set new Springboks record by becoming their leading international try scorer. He now has bagged 40 tries in his 73 international appearances for the Springboks. He predicted that the weather could play a decisive role in
Sunday’s knock out game.
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