Bryan Habana is the winger for the South African national rugby team. In the current standings, after one game, he’s the top try scorer in the rugby world cup with four tries.

So just how fast can this guy run? I’ve been digging around for some official figures but can’t find any. There’s reports that Habana has run 10.4-s for the 100-m and others that say just under 11-s. I also found an article that said he can run 40-m in 4.63-s.

But it doesn’t matter what he can run on the track. It’s completely different running on a grass pitch, in boots, with pads and kit and against an opposition who want to smash you into next week.

Habana earns his money on the rugby pitch and as long as he’s tearing up defences, scoring tries and entertaining us – does it matter what the official figures are? Probably not.

On another note, I’ve heard that Habana can bench press 160 kg, which for a winger is seriously strong. If his lower body strength is just as good then there’s a good chance we can say that his speed comes from a great ability to apply a lot of force to the ground in a short space of time.

Finally, forget a 40-m, 60-m, 100-m or 200-m race to judge how fast your athletes are get them to do this instead!

This is Bryan Habana racing a cheetah!

Alan Ruddock CSCS, YCS