By Jason Humphries
DURBAN, June 5 (Reuters) – South Africa will not use their
lack of preparation time as an excuse before their three-test
home series against England, wing Bryan Habana said on Tuesday.
Habana, with 74 test caps to his name, is the most
experienced player in the 32-man Springbok squad. His knowledge
will be vital for a South Africa team who have had only five
days to prepare for the first test against England in Durban on
Saturday.
“The one thing we have decided as a group is that there are
going to be no excuses whether we have enough time or not,”
Habana told reporters.
“(Coach) Heyneke Meyer’s main message to us for the next
four years is that we want to become the best team in the world
and we can’t afford to see anything as an excuse.”
Meyer has named nine uncapped players in his first South
Africa squad which will be missing the retired John Smit and
Victor Matfield and the injured Schalk Burger and Juan Smith.
“We are all professional enough to understand our roles and
responsibilities and we need to make sure that we start this new
era with a win,” Habana said.
South Africa have an admirable recent record against
England, having won the last seven tests between the two
countries while England have not beaten the Springboks in South
Africa since 2000.
But Habana said that history would play no part in the first
test against a revitalised England team who finished second in
this year’s Six Nations under new coach Stuart Lancaster.
Continued…
