Habana sings English praises

South African centre-cum-winger Bryan Habana has openly admitted his disappointment about the outcome of his debut game against England at Twickenham. A woeful Springbok performance saw an impressive England side score a convincing 32-16 win at the weekend.

The Springboks were soundly beaten and Habana, who only had nine minutes to impress, saved deeper Bok blushes with a storming try at the end of the match.

He might have had another as well, but was foiled by a glorious tackle from Josh Lewsey.

"It's great to score a try on your debut but we lost the match and obviously that takes the shine off it," said the Lions' rocket.

"We are a young team though and England proved why they are world champions."

"On the day we were beaten by the better side. They used the right gameplan. They were physical on and off the ball. They played the game very close to their forwards and their ball retention was incredible.

"Charlie Hodgson played unbelievably. He was pinpoint with everything he did - his kicking, his passing. Tactically he got it right every time."

Habana is likely to be a key figure by the time these two teams meet again in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, and sees the potential within the South African ranks for a different result next time.

"I was watching the match from the sidelines and this England team looked awesome. But there are three years until we meet them in the World Cup. It will be a different ball game then," he said.

"The game was a lot more physical than the Currie Cup, but that's the step up you have to make if you are to become a world-class player. A lot of hard work has to be done, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

"It would be great to make my first start against Scotland. You have to work hard to become an international player so I'll be grateful for my chance if it comes."