Lions presenter praised after she responds to Bryan Habana’s Welsh skills by learning some Afrikaans

Presenter Sarra Elgan Easterby has been praised by fans online after she responded to Springbok legend Bryan Habana’s use of the Welsh language in their broadcasts by mastering some Afrikaans.

Former South African World Cup winning wing Habana had been popping up on S4C to offer his analysis of the Lions tour during highlight shows and had made regular use of the Welsh language during his appearances.

During his analysis of the Lions’ performances Bryan Habana had commented that it was a “noswaith dda” (good evening), “gêm gyffrous heno” (an exciting game tonight), “mae’n oer yn Ellis Park” (it’s cold in Ellis Park), and also responded to a questions in Welsh.

His co-presenter Sarra Elgan Easterby said that after teaching Bryan Habana some Welsh she had asked him to teach her some Afrikaans so that she could use it when interviewing Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber.

“Been out here six weeks and Bryan Habana has taught me a bit of Afrikaans, so I tried it out on Jacques!” she said.

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During an interview on Sky Sports before the third Lions test she asked the Springbok coach how he was feeling and told him the game is very exciting. Jacques Nienaber responded that her Afrikaans was “perfect”.

Her comments impressed her social media following, with one Afrikaans speaker telling her “Your pronunciation was outstanding actually. I was impressed. Baie gote mevrou Sarra.”

Another commented “mooi so” (well done).

Angharad Griffiths commented: “In an age where sports reporting is devoid of any intelligent background research aside from a social media scan; and athlete media training the norm; Sara Elgan’s work on the Lions tour (and general Rugby work) is a breath of fresh air.”