Bryan Habana equaled Jonah Lomu’s record of 15 Rugby World Cup tries when he crossed for a hat-trick that helped South Africa to a 64-0 win over the US on Wednesday and secured top spot in Pool B.
His three were among 10 tries for the Springboks in an emphatic conclusion to a pool stage that started with their shock loss to Japan.
South Africa took a 14-0 halftime lead despite an error-prone first 40 minutes after Damian de Allende’s opener in the seventh minute and a penalty try from sustained forward pressure in the 27th.
Photo: AFP
It all happened quickly in the second half, with Habana swooping on a perfectly placed grubber-kick toward the in-goal from skipper Fourie du Preez just 62 seconds after the break.
He added two more tries — untouched, in the 59th and 61st minutes — to lift his career tally at world cups to 15 and equal the tournament record mark set by Lomu.
Habana said he was humbled to equal the All Blacks great, who scored 15 tries across the 1995 and 1999 World Cups in South Africa and Britain respectively.
“Really fantastic to equal the record, but for me more humbling than ever,” said Habana, who is at his third World Cup and was part of the 2007 winning team.
“I don’t think I can ever equate myself to Jonah and what he was able to do for the game. It’s a massive honor and privilege to even be seen in the same record books as him,” Habana said.
He could have broken the record, but knocked-on close to the line.
“He will be more disappointed that he didn’t finish when he had the chance to score for the team rather than break a record,” Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer said.
“I am so proud of him — not just as a rugby player, but as a human being as well. He is a great ambassador for South Africa,” he said.
Habana also joined Australia great David Campese at No. 2 on the all-time list of Test tries with his 64th from 114 games.
Habana’s first try on Wednesday made the score 21-0, and when hooker Bismarck du Plessis burrowed over from a close-range ruck six minutes later, the match was all but decided.
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 quarter-finals.
A procession of tries ensued.
Blindside flanker Francois Louw scored twice, outside center Jesse Kriel strolled through some tiring defense in the middle and winger Lwazi Mvovo finished off a counterattacking try deep in injury time to inflate the margin — making it the biggest win at this tournament.
Meyer was pleased by the Springboks’ defensive effort.
“We are really happy with our defence, we have only conceded one try in our last three games,” he said.
They were intent on attacking and spreading the ball wide in the first half, and put down a series of chances against a gritty defensive effort from a US lineup missing some front-line players who were being saved for their last pool game against Japan on Sunday.
Japan are still in contention for a quarter-final spot for the first time, vying for second in the pool with Scotland, who are to play Samoa.
After a short turnaround following a win over Scotland on Saturday, the Springboks have a long break until the quarter-finals, where they face the loser of tomorrow’s Pool A match between Australia and Wales.
The US were competitive in the first half, but missed two shots at goal, one cluttering into the left-hand upright.
“In the first half I was so pleased with the way our guys played. They just poured their hearts out,” US coach Mike Tolkin said.
“Once the Springboks got going, it really wore our guys down quickly,” he added.
Tolkin lamented the schedule that prompted him to hold back some of his top players against one of the best teams in the world so he could focus on a more winnable match four days later against a fellow second-tier team.
Tolkin said the schedule meant he could not put that team out on Wednesday.
“I am very frustrated and we are certainly not alone,” he said. “It is hard to take when you have to make a line-up based on a few days rest.”
“It would have been interesting to see what a full [US] side would have done against the Springboks,” he said, adding that after Tests against New Zealand, Australia and now South Africa in the past two years, his players were learning what it took to compete at the highest level.
“They aren’t superhuman, and it’s important for our guys to see that. We are developing a belief the more we play the top teams,” he said.
The US were the first team to fail to score in a match at this World Cup.
However, this World Cup has not seen a repeat of three-figure “blow-outs” that have bean a feature of previous editions and Tolkin said: “At this World Cup you don’t get any 80, 90, or 100-point scores.”
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