Springbok Rugby Legend Bryan Habana will be remembered for his finishing ability, an eye for intercepting passes and his electrifying pace.
In this short series of Springbok Rugby Legends, Ryan Jordan takes a look at the playing careers of those who have endeared themselves to the South African rugby public. In the first edition of this series, we featured the great Danie Gerber.
Springbok Rugby Legend Bryan Habana
Career progression
Bryan Habana was a well traveled rugby professional, playing for a number of teams inside South Africa and overseas.
Currie Cup Rugby
Habana played Currie Cup Rugby for the Lions, the Blue Bulls and Western Province. He played a lot less Currie Cup rugby than one would initially expect.
His Super Rugby and International responsibilities, which often clashed with the Currie Cup season, meant he was often not available for selection. In a ten year career in South Africa, he played a total of 43 games, scoring 28 tries.
Super Rugby
Bryan Habana played for two Super Rugby teams. The Bulls and the Stormers. In total, he played 118 Super Rugby games, scoring 56 tries. His pace and eye for open space to run into is what really made his career.
Test Match Rugby
At Test level, Habana played 124 games for the Springboks, 3 short of the record held by Victor Matfield. In total, Habana scored 67 International tries. 2007 was Habana’s glory year. At the Rugby World Cup in France, he equaled All Black great Jonah Lomu’s record of 8 tries in one edition of the World Cup. In the same year, Habana was named as the IRB (now World Rugby) Player of the year.
Top 14 Rugby
Habana ended his career in France, playing Top 14 rugby for Toulon. In total, he played 66 games, scoring 23 tries. He called time on his career in 2018 after struggling to overcome a persistent knee injury.
What do these numbers mean?
The number of games Habana has played shows that he has kept himself fit and was relatively injury free for most of his playing career. The really impressive number though is the number of tries has scored in those games. He was a true finisher.
Bryan Habana is the second player highlighted in this series of articles. Who is your Springbok rugby legend?
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