Henry Honiball

Henry William Honiball (born 1 December 1965) is a former South African rugby union footballer.[1] He played at fly-half for South Africa during the post-apartheid era, although he was physically and technically acquainted in any back position.

Henry Honiball

Birth name	Henry William Honiball
Date of birth	1 December 1965
Place of birth	Estcourt, South Africa
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	98 kg (216 lb; 15 st 6 lb)
School	Estcourt High School
University	University of the Free State
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half, Centre Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1999–2000 Bristol 13 (178) Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1989–1991 Free State 38 () 1992–1999 Sharks (Currie Cup) 111 () Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 1996–1999 Sharks ? (356) National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1993–1999 South Africa 35 (156) National sevens team(s) Years Team Comps 1994 South Africa 1

Biography

Honiball was a rare breed of fly-half, one who had a very expansive running game which brought the loose-forwards into the game quickly.[2] He was also very tall for a fly-half and extremely physical, being a strong tackler and not afraid to take the ball and challenge the opposition.[3] He earned his nickname of 'Lem', which is Afrikaans for 'blade', for his ability to 'cut' through his opponent's defence.[4] Paired in the halves with Joost van der Westhuizen, Honiball was an integral part of Nick Mallett's legendary Springbok squad which equalled the record of 17 consecutive Test victories, a record shared with New Zealand. Honiball played in 14 of the 17 victories, which included the clean sweep of the 1998 Tri Nations Series, the Springboks' first-ever series victory. Such was his reading, distribution and tactical knowledge of the game that he had an enviable Springbok success rate of nearly 75 per cent.

He made his debut in 1993 against the Wallabies in Sydney, coming on as a replacement. Although South Africa lost the match 19–12, Honiball was also a member of the South African team that mauled Australia 61–22 during the 1997 Tri Nations tournament, (which was only replaced on the 30th of August 2008 with a 53–8 win to South Africa in Johannesburg during the 2008 Tri Nations Series) as Australia's heaviest ever defeat.[5] However, in the aftermath of the record-equalling streak, Honiball was understood to have been affected by the sensational axing of captain and close friend Gary Teichmann.[6] After the Springboks struggled to find their rhythm in the following year's Tri Nations tournament, Mallett had considered recalling Honiball for the match against New Zealand in Pretoria. He had only just returned from serious injury and was playing well for club side Natal, but revealed that he had suffered an ankle injury, so Mallett sent him to see a specialist in Johannesburg.[6] Honiball retired from international rugby after the Springboks beat New Zealand in the 1999 Rugby World Cup third/fourth place play-off.

After the World Cup, he played one season for Bristol, amassing 283 points before a serious neck injury forced him to retire.[7]

Test history

No.	Opposition	Result (SA 1st)	Position	Points	Date	Venue
1.	Australia	12–19	Replacement		21 Aug 1993	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
2.	Argentina	52–23	Fly-half		13 Nov 1993	Ferrocarril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires
3.	Samoa	60–8	Replacement		13 Apr 1995	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
4.	Fiji	43–18	Fly-half	10 (2 conversions, 2 penalties)	2 July 1996	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
5.	Australia	16–21	Fly-half	8 (1 conversion, 2 penalties)	13 July 1996	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
6.	New Zealand	32–22	Fly-half	8 (1 conversion, 2 penalties)	31 Aug 1996	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
7.	Argentina	46–15	Fly-half	9 (3 conversions, 1 penalty)	9 Nov 1996	Ferrocarril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires
8.	Argentina	44–21	Fly-half	14 (4 conversions, 2 penalties)	16 Nov 1996	Ferrocarril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires
9.	France	22–12	Fly-half	12 (4 penalties)	30 Nov 1996	Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
10.	France	13–12	Fly-half	8 (1 conversion, 2 penalties)	7 Dec 1996	Parc des Princes, Paris
11.	Wales	37–20	Fly-half	10 (2 conversions, 2 penalties)	15 Dec 1996	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
12.	Tonga	74–10	Fly-half		10 Jun 1997	Newlands, Cape Town
13.	British Lions	16–25	Fly-half	3 (1 penalty)	21 Jun 1997	Newlands, Cape Town
14.	British Lions	15–18	Fly-half		28 Jun 1997	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
15.	British Lions	35–16	Replacement	2 (1 conversion)	5 Jul 1997	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
16.	New Zealand	32–35	Replacement		19 Jul 1997	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
17.	Australia	20–32	Replacement		2 Aug 1997	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
18.	New Zealand	35–55	Centre	4 (2 conversions)	9 Aug 1997	Eden Park, Auckland
19.	Australia	61–22	Centre		23 Aug 1997	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
20.	Italy	62–31	Fly-half	17 (7 conversions, 1 penalty)	8 Nov 1997	Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna
21.	France	36–32	Fly-half	11 (4 conversions, 1 penalty)	15 Nov 1997	Stade de Gerland, Lyon
22.	France	52–10	Fly-half	22 (1 try, 7 conversions, 1 penalty)	22 Nov 1997	Parc des Princes, Paris
23.	England	29–11	Fly-half	7 (2 conversions, 1 penalty)	29 Nov 1997	Twickenham, London
24.	Wales	96–13	Replacement		27 Jun 1998	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
25.	England	18–0	Fly-half		4 Jul 1998	Newlands, Cape Town
26.	Australia	14–13	Fly-half		18 Jul 1998	Subiaco Oval, Perth
27.	New Zealand	13–3	Fly-half		25 Jul 1998	Athletic Park, Wellington
28.	New Zealand	24–23	Fly-half		15 Aug 1998	Kings Park, Durban
29.	Australia	29–15	Fly-half		29 Aug 1998	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
30.	Wales	28–20	Fly-half		14 Nov 1998	Wembley, London
31.	Scotland	35–10	Fly-half		21 Nov 1998	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
32.	Ireland	27–13	Fly-half		28 Nov 1998	Aviva Stadium (Lansdowne Road), Dublin
33.	England	7–13	Fly-half		5 Dec 1998	Twickenham, London
34.	Australia	21–27	Replacement		30 Oct 1999	Twickenham, London
35.	New Zealand	22–18	Fly-half	11 (1 conversion, 3 penalties)	4 Nov 1999	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 590

References

1. "Henry Honiball". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
2. page 24
3. BBC News | South Africa | Key player: Henry Honiball
4. Sharks Rugby
5. Henry Honiball - South Africa Rugby Player - Rugby-Heroes.net
6. Gray, Wynne (30 June 2000). "Rugby: Bok hopes dive with Honiball in doubt". New Zealand Herald.
7. BBC SPORT | RUGBY UNION | Honiball retires from game

External links

• "SA Rugby Player Profile – Henry Honiball". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 March 2016.