Bok coach hails hero Habana

The nine-try bonanza saw the Boks safely into the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup, where they will face either Wales or Australia - depending on which of those two teams wins their crunch clash on Saturday.

Reflecting on their most comprehensive performance of the tournament, the Bok coach waxed lyrical about some of the standout Bok performers.

A number of Springboks played out of their skins but veteran wing Bryan Habana stood head and shoulders above the rest. The right wing scored a hat-trick to equal the great Jonah Lomu's World Cup record of 15 tries.

"I'm so proud of him, not just as a rugby player but as a human being as well," Meyer said of Habana.

"It's really great that he is on form and we will need that in the next game. He's a great ambassador for South Africa and he's peaked at the right time - we are going to need more tries from him.

"Bryan will tell you as well, for him it's all about the team but it's great that South Africa will hopefully get that record. It will be good for the country and Bryan as well," the coach added.

Meyer was cautious to not only single out his star player on the night, but he highlighted the 32-year-old wing's consistent performances for the Boks over the years.

"I think the one thing we are getting right now is that it's more about the team than the individual - sometimes you have to lose to see that. Bryan has always played well for me, he's always the guy who comes through in big games.

"He's played a lot of rugby recently and we came in here with a lot of injuries and we couldn't get going. But suddenly a lot of guys are building momentum and when we really needed him in the last three weeks, he's been at his best."

If Habana scores another try at the World Cup, he will set the new overall try record.

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