South Africa Crush USA As Bryan Habana Equals RWC Try Record

Back-rower Schalk Burger, who equaled John Smit’s South Africa record of 17 Rugby World Cup matches, promptly left the field to avoid injury ahead of the quarterfinals.

South Africa needed a bonus-point win to top the group, and was halfway there with a 14-0 lead despite an error-prone first half at halftime after Damian de Allende’s opener in the seventh minute, and a penalty try from sustained forward pressure in the 27th. From then on it was a rout Habana adding two more trademark sprint finish tries in quick succession as the American floodgates opened.

It was the first time a team had failed to score at this World Cup and the most lopsided match of the tournament so far.

Pool A: Australia and Wales already have locked down the top two spots in their pool (while tournament host England will be watching the knockout rounds from home). “The key is to stay fresh, have a game plan and get out there and battle with Japan”.

“In the first half, I was so pleased with the way our guys played”, Eagles coach Mike Tolkin told reporters after the game.

Habana said he and his brother were so keen to get Lomu’s signature, they chased him into the restrooms.

Meyer said: “He is always the guy who comes through in big games”.

“If it was worth a lot more in terms of winning or losing a game I would have been a lot more disappointed, but again equalling Jonah Lomu’s record is a truly humbling fact”. Provided they beat Samoa, Vern Cotter’s team will progress to a quarter-final at Twickenham on Sunday 18th against the winners of Pool A – Australia or Wales.

Morne Steyn-who has fallen behind Handre Pollard and Pat Lambie in South Africa’s fly-half pecking order-could be involved off the bench.

The Americans, with 12 changes from the defeat to Scotland, were dominating possession but could not make it count as Blaine Scully and Habana were both forced off for head injury assessments after the South Africa winger’s strong challenge.

USA 20 (MacDonald) South Africa 43 (Hall, Jantjes (2), Rossouw, van Biljon, Vos) End of year internationals December 2001.

And they did just that within 60 seconds, Bryan Habana collecting Fourie du Preez’ neat kick through and, once the Toulon flyer had the ball in his hands, no one was going to stop him.

Habana’s feat will take much of the post-match coverage but the Springboks have preached a message of unity and the general philosophy is one that they will not dwell on Habana’s feat, with the man himself reluctant to take any praise. “To look past this game would be arrogant and we don’t want to do that”, Meyer said. “Slowly but surely we have been improving”, the coach said afterwards.

“It is great that people are writing us off but I know what this team can do, slowly but surely we have been improving”.

But their second-half dominance should have been anticipated because of the first phase and physical ascendancy they enjoyed in the opening 40 minutes.

Bryan Habana had never played rugby before the 1995 World Cup, a tournament he remembers vividly for the way blockbusting All Blacks wing Jonah Lomu carved up England and the way Nelson Mandela presented the trophy to the Springboks.