The 'absolutely insane' Bryan Habana verdict on Henry Arundell

Legendary Springboks winger Bryan Habana has given his verdict on last Saturday’s compelling debut performance from England teenager Henry Arundell. The 19-year-old stepped off the bench in Perth to score with his first Test rugby touch, igniting comparisons of the London Irish youngster with some legendary names of the sport such as David Campese and Habana himself.

It was November 2004 when the then 21-year-old Habana burst on the international scene with a try as a Springboks replacement versus England at Twickenham, igniting a stellar 124-cap career that included a World Cup win in 2007.  

Now 39, the retired star has described how chuffed he was to hear himself compared to Arundell, a new talent that he believes will have a long future in the game. 

Appearing on the latest RugbyPass Offload, the South African outlined his excitement at seeing the teenage Arundell in action and he now expects him to start this weekend’s second England versus Australia Test in Brisbane.  

“I’m guessing by the first touch he had in international rugby and the try he scored, Henry Arundell will probably be in the starting line-up this weekend because that was just absolutely insane, wow," said Habana.

“My first touch in international rugby I just had to run away from Josh Lewsey. I didn’t have to bounce two Australians, fend off James O’Connor and score a try. That is a little bit better than Bryan Habana. I’m extremely humbled, I’m going into the fifth decade of my life now and I’m extremely grateful that I’m still being compared to some lightning-quick youngsters with ability. 

“The try he scored at Stade Mayol a few weeks ago (for London Irish) definitely made everyone look up and say this bloke is proper… long may his try-scoring and his feats on the rugby field entertain the rugby world because he does seem an incredibly talented, focused individual. 

“In comparison to someone like Louis Rees-Zammit, who took a while to find his feet in international rugby, Arundell has put his hand up and is probably here to stay for a very long time. 

“Eddie (Jones) will back him. He will have seen in those last seven minutes on Saturday that he has got something special but he will nurture it properly and will be in Henry’s ear the whole week this week if he does play, telling him, ‘You’re not working hard enough, work off your wing’. 

“Eddie will be, ‘You’ve got to get better, mate’. Eddie will be on him this whole week and he looks like a youngster that had his head properly on his shoulders. He looks intense, looks committed. He almost looks like a young Jack Nowell, to be honest, in terms of the way he approaches the game. 

“Long may that last. The more we see that in world rugby the greater the game becomes. We talk about trying to create new fans and explore new territories, but when you have guys like that who are ripping it up, how is rugby not entertaining? I can’t wait to see more of him.”