Honiball had a very expansive running game which brought the loose-forwards into the game quickly. He was also tall for a fly-half and extremely physical, being a strong tackler and not afraid to take the ball and challenge the opposition. He earned his nickname of 'Lem', Afrikaans for 'blade', for his ability to 'cut' through his opponent's defence. Paired in the halves with
Joost van der Westhuizen, Honiball was an integral part of
Nick Mallett's
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. He made his debut in 1993 against
Australia in Sydney, coming on as a replacement. Although South Africa lost the match 19–12, Honiball was also a member of the South Africa team that mauled Australia 61–22 during the
1997 Tri Nations tournament. However, in the aftermath of the record-equalling streak, Honiball was understood to have been affected by the surprise axing of captain and close friend
Gary Teichmann. 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.
Test history ==See also==