Bryan Habana has emphasised the importance of the Springboks’ overseas based-players.
Sale’s Faf de Klerk, Wasps’ Willie le Roux and now Japan-based Duane Vermeulen were among the key players for the Boks during their 2-1 series win against England in June.
Habana pointed out that their efforts were one of the highlights of the series that has seemingly changed the outlook for the Springboks.
‘The series against England in June for South Africa was a real positive after two rather disappointing years under Allister Coetzee,’ the former Bok wing told Omnisport.
‘Being able to come up and get in a series win with an inspirational moment of Siya Kolisi becoming the first black captain of the Springboks was really a fantastic moment for South African rugby and for South Africa.
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‘The positive [change] out of the June series is the way the overseas-based players have stepped up to the plate, which hasn’t quite been there in the previous two years.
‘The way the players went about coming from behind in that series, especially in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, was really good to see.’
Habana added that he hopes to see the Springboks continue their development under Rassie Erasmus with the 2019 World Cup on the horizon.
‘A year out from the World Cup there’s a lot of planning being put into place by Rassie Erasmus and hopefully, the players will be able to step up to the plate and make the difference over the next while.
‘There’s a lot on the go and hopefully, the team continues to develop as Rassie and Siya start heading towards Japan in 2019.’
Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images
