Williams, a Commonwealth Games athlete who was one of the quickest players to play for Wales and the Lions, has marvelled at the performances of the Sprinbok wing and reckons he is the biggest threat to England as they seek to hold onto their title of world champions.
“Habana has lit up this World Cup and been the player of the tournament to date for me. He is a joy to watch,” said Williams, who scared the South Africans to death when he scored four tries against them in the 1974 Lions series triumph.
“I don’t think Habana is the quickest player in the tournament. That honour goes to the American Eagles flyer, Takudzwa Ngwenya, who has a track time of 10.5 sec and was blisteringly quick.
“But he is a truly explosive athlete. We all saw the televison pictures of him racing against a Cheetah and that showed he has very good leg speed. He was never going to beat the Cheetah, but there are few, if any, players in the modern game who can catch him on a rugby field.
“When he made that interception against Argentina in the semi-final he only needed to put on the burners for 20 metres and he was away. Then he just coasted home – the sign of a supreme athlete.
“It the old rugby story: you simply cannot defend against pace. As a wing, you don’t mind how big your opponent is, unless he is a “freak” like Jonah Lomu, but if you have to play against someone with genuine pace then it is nerve racking.”
Williams did the Welsh sprint double in 1971 and clocked a wind assisted 10.4 sec over 100 metres before switching to rugby. His son, Rhys, is the European Championship bronze medalist over 400 hurdles and a silver medalist in the 4 x 400 relay.
His 30 caps on the wing for Wales saw him score 12 tries and win Grand Slams in 1976 and 1978. He also went on two Lions tours, scoring five tries in seven Tests.
“Shane Williams is quick, but nowhere near the speed of Habana or Ngwenya. They are both true speed merchants,” said Williams. “I think that Habana could get down to around 10.2 sec over 100 metres on the track. It’s a shame that we don’t have any really quick players in Wales.
“There always used to be a number of Welsh Schools and Welsh international sprinters playing on the first-class scene and for Wales. But these days there doesn’t seem to be much time spent on speed work.
“That’s a great shame because when you look at a player like Habana you see a player who can single-handedly win you a game. He could easily be the difference between the two teams in the World Cup final on Saturay night.
“He knows he has got the speed to take on anyone and he can also use the chip and chase tactic superbly well. He did that against the Pumas and came up with a great try. If the Springboks can get the ball to him quickly enough then the alarm bells are going to ring very loudly indeed in the England camp.
“He is one of those players who is worth the admission price on his own and I’m really looking forward to seeing him in action on Saturday night, and when he comes to Wales with South Africa next month.”
