Habana: Springboks are on the rise
Habana's second-half treble saw him equal Jonah Lomu's record of 15 World Cup tries as South Africa booked their quarter-final place. The 2007 World Cup winner was on the field as the Springboks were beaten 32-34 by Japan in their opening Pool B match.
But expressed pride at the way in which South Africa bounced back with wins over Samoa, Scotland and the United States – conceding just one try – to top Pool B.
"We took a bit of a tumble that first week against Japan, so the last three weeks have been important as to how we've responded. We've raised the intensity and physicality, week on week," said Habana.
The Springboks were only 14-0 up at half-time, thanks to centre Damian de Allende's maiden international try and a penalty try off a scrum but the second half saw South Africa score eight tries, including Habana's treble, as they added 50 more points.
"We couldn't get going in the first half and made one or two errors but the second-half performance was as polished as I've been involved in with a Bok team," said Habana, a veteran of 114 Tests.
"As nice as it is to score tries, we can be really proud of our defensive effort. To allow only one try in three World Cup games was unbelievably exceptional."
The Springboks will now face the losers of the Australia v Wales match in the next stage of the competition after finishing top of Pool B.
AFP
