Bryan Habana

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Bryan Habana
Habana in 2006
Birth nameBryan Gary Habana
Date of birth (1983-06-12) 12 June 1983 (age 41)
Place of birthJohannesburg, South Africa
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
SchoolKing Edward VII School
UniversityRand Afrikaans University
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Outside Centre
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013–2018 Toulon 66 (115)
Correct as of 18 June 2017
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
2003–2004 Golden Lions 21 (85)
2005–2009 Blue Bulls 14 (45)
2010–2013 Western Province 8 (10)
Correct as of 16 August 2015
Super Rugby
Years Team Apps (Points)
2005–2009 Bulls 61 (185)
2010–2013 Stormers 57 (95)
Correct as of 16 August 2015
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2004 South Africa Under-21 3 (15)
2004, 2016 South Africa Sevens 4 (15)
2004–2016 South Africa (test) 124 (335)
2007 South Africa (tour) 2 (0)
2014 Springbok XV 2 (5)
Correct as of 19 November 2016

Bryan Gary Habana

Toulon in the French Top 14, and won 124 caps for the South Africa national team
.

Habana was part of the South Africa team that won the

IRB Player of the Year. During the 2015 Rugby World Cup Habana equalled Lomu's career record of 15 tries in World Cups. He is in second place among all time test try scorers
, with 67 tries.

Career

Early career

Habana was born in

King Edward VII School and Rand Afrikaans University (now known as the University of Johannesburg
).

He played

World Sevens Series. He made his Currie Cup debut for the Golden Lions
in 2004, doing well enough to be voted the country's most promising player that year.

That November, he made his Test debut against England at Twickenham aged 21. Though the game was lost 32–16, Habana came on as a reserve to score a try with his first touch of the ball against the then World Cup holders. The following week Habana was moved into the starting line-up, where he contributed two tries to the 45–10 win over Scotland at Murrayfield. The next week, he was selected in the same position, on the left wing, in that year's final match against Argentina in Buenos Aires.

2005–2007

In 2005, he moved to the Blue Bulls. Following the

Ellis Park
, with Habana scoring in the second Test.

Habana made his

IRB World Player of the Year, and was also selected by SA Rugby
as 2005 South Africa Player of the Year in 2005.

The Springboks endured a poor year in 2006 as they lost four of their six tri nations matches. They also lost to France in the midyear test and lost to Ireland 32–15 – a game in which Habana was averted to centre for the first time in a Springbok shirt. He scored a try. They then lost to England in the first test but gained revenge in the second test.

In April 2007 Habana competed against a cheetah in a 100-meter race to help raise awareness of the imminent danger of the cheetah being classified as an endangered species, according to De Wildt officials. He lost, because cheetahs can run 70 mph, instead of 22 mph.[4]

2007 Super 14

Habana's most dramatic act of the 2007 Super 14 season was his last minute try in the final, enabling flyhalf Derick Hougaard to make an easy conversion and giving the Bulls a dramatic 20–19 victory over the Sharks. The try was especially hard to take for Sharks fans as it was debated if Habana should have even been on the field after dangerously tackling fullback Percy Montgomery in the air, in the opening minutes of the game. Habana later admitted in an interview that, despite not intending to cause Montgomery harm, he should have been sent off for the challenge.

2007 World Cup

Habana was selected on the wing for the Springboks first game of the

IRB Player of the Year Award at the 2007 IRB Awards, held in Paris on 21 October.[5]

2008 season

Habana in the Springbok change kit

The 2008 season wasn't Habana's greatest. Although he kept his spot in the Springboks side, he failed to make an impact like he did in the previous year. He only scored two tries in the whole year, one against the All Blacks in their 19–8 loss and one against England in the 42–6 win. The team struggled to adapt to new coach Peter de Villiers incoherent model for an expansive game, and thus the Springbok backline failed to find attacking impetus throughout that season. The Springboks had a poor year, only winning two of their six games in the 2008 Tri Nations but came back at the end of the year to win all of their Tour Matches against Wales, Scotland and England.

2009 Super 14

Habana had a mixed super 14 season. He was quiet on attack, but was a rock on defence, later he found his attacking form and finished the season second top try scorer, with 8 tries. This led to the Blue Bulls regaining their title as Champions of the Southern Hemisphere.

2009 British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa

Habana had targeted the Lions tour as one of the biggest moments of his career, possibly bigger than the World Cup. In a close first test the South Africans defeated the Lions 26–21, but Habana failed to show the form he had displayed in the Super 14. In the second test, the Lions were more fired up and led 19–8 with 20 minutes to go before Habana burst through their defence and scored one of his most memorable tries. The Springboks went on to win after his Bulls teammate Morné Steyn kicked a last gasp penalty from 53 metres (58 yd). Habana was rested for the final test, a game which South Africa would rather forget as they lost 28–9 but with their series win they gained revenge after losing the 1997 tour.

2009 Tri Nations

After the Lions series came the Tri-Nations.

Tri Nations title since 2004. It was also Habana's first success in that tournament. Habana still had the all-time try-scoring record[clarification needed
] to beat, as he was five tries away from taking it at the end of the 2009 season.

Barbarians 2009

On 5 December, Habana played on the left wing for the

Barbarians for their 'Final Challenge' against New Zealand. He scored 3 tries as the Barbarians defeated the All Blacks, who had not lost a match in the Northern hemisphere in 2 years.[6]

Provincial Move

In 2009 Habana moved to Cape Town, to play for Western Province and the Stormers starting in 2010. Habana played for the Stormers in a losing Super Rugby final in 2010, a losing Currie Cup final for Western Province in 2010 and a winning Currie Cup final in 2012.

2011 Rugby World Cup

Habana was selected for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and played the first game which South Africa won against Wales 17-16 thanks to tries from François Steyn and Hougaard. They were then victorious against Fiji and Namibia before beating Samoa just 13–5 in which Habana scored a ninth minute try. South Africa however were then knocked out of the tournament by Australia in the quarter-finals by 11–9.

2012

Habana played two tests against England in the June internationals and 5 tests in

hat trick
of tries against Australia as well as tries, home and away, against the All Blacks

Toulon

Habana with Toulon, vs Stade Français.

On 11 January 2013, Habana confirmed he would move to French club

Heineken Cup and Top 14 in 2014 and the European Champions Cup
in 2015.

2015 Rugby World Cup

Habana was selected for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, where he equalled Jonah Lomu's record of 15 World Cup tries with a hat-trick against the USA. South Africa lost 20–18 in the semi-finals to eventual champions New Zealand and subsequently finished third.

Habana was made vice-captain of South Africa in 2016, and brought his career try tally to 67.

Retirement

On 24 April 2018, Habana announced his retirement from all rugby at the end of his French Top 14 club Toulon's season.[8]

International tries

[9]

Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  England London, England Twickenham Stadium 2004 end-of-year rugby union internationals 20 November 2004 Loss 32 – 16
2  Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland Murrayfield Stadium 2004 end-of-year rugby union internationals 27 November 2004 Win 10 – 45
3
4  Uruguay
East London, South Africa
Basil Kenyon Stadium
 2005 June rugby union test 11 June 2005 Win 134 – 3
5
6  France Durban, South Africa Kings Park Stadium 2005 France rugby union tour of South Africa and Australia 18 June 2005 Draw 30 – 30
7
8  France
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
 EPRU Stadium 2005 France rugby union tour of South Africa and Australia 25 June 2005 Win 27 – 13
9
10  Australia Johannesburg, South Africa Ellis Park Stadium 2005 June rugby union test 23 July 2005 Win 33 – 20
11  Australia Perth, Australia Subiaco Oval 2005 Tri Nations Series 20 August 2005 Win 19 – 22
12
13  New Zealand Dunedin, New Zealand Carisbrook 2005 Tri Nations Series 27 August 2005 Loss 31 – 27
14  Wales Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2005 end-of-year rugby union internationals 19 November 2005 Win 16 – 33
15
16  New Zealand
Rustenburg, South Africa
 Royal Bafokeng Stadium 2006 Tri Nations Series 2 September 2006 Win 21 – 20
17  Ireland Dublin, Ireland Lansdowne Road 2006 South Africa rugby union tour of Ireland and England 11 November 2006 Loss 32 – 15
18  England Bloemfontein, South Africa Free State Stadium 2007 England rugby union tour of South Africa 26 May 2007 Win 58 – 10
19
20  England Pretoria, South Africa
Loftus Versfeld Stadium
 2007 England rugby union tour of South Africa 2 June 2007 Win 55 – 22
21
22  Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland Murrayfield Stadium 2007 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches 25 August 2007 Win 3 – 27
23  Samoa Paris, France Parc des Princes 2007 Rugby World Cup 9 September 2007 Win 59 – 7
24
25
26
27  
United States
 Montpellier, France Stade de la Mosson 2007 Rugby World Cup 30 September 2007 Win 64 – 15
28
29  Argentina Saint-Denis, France Stade de France 2007 Rugby World Cup 14 October 2007 Win 37 – 13
30
31  New Zealand Wellington, New Zealand
WestPac Stadium
 2008 Tri Nations Series 5 July 2008 Loss 19 – 8
32  England London, England Twickenham Stadium 2008 South Africa rugby union tour of Europe 22 November 2008 Win 8 – 42
33  British and Irish Lions Pretoria, South Africa
Loftus Versfeld Stadium
 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa 27 June 2009 Win 28 – 25
34  Australia Perth, Australia Subiaco Oval 2009 Tri Nations Series 29 August 2009 Win 25 – 32
35
36  Italy Udine, Italy Stadio Friuli 2009 end-of-year rugby union internationals 21 November 2009 Win 10 – 32
37  Italy Witbank, South Africa
Puma Rugby Stadium
 2010 June rugby union tests 19 June 2010 Win 29 – 13
38  Italy
East London, South Africa
 Buffalo City Stadium 2010 June rugby union tests 26 June 2010 Win 55 – 11
39  Namibia Auckland, New Zealand North Harbour Stadium 2011 Rugby World Cup 22 September 2011 Win 87 – 0
40  Samoa Auckland, New Zealand North Harbour Stadium 2011 Rugby World Cup 30 September 2011 Win 13 – 5
41  Argentina Cape Town, South Africa Newlands Stadium 2012 Rugby Championship 18 August 2012 Win 27 – 6
42  Australia Perth, Australia Patersons Stadium 2012 Rugby Championship 8 September 2012 Loss 26 – 19
43  New Zealand Dunedin, New Zealand Forsyth Barr Stadium 2012 Rugby Championship 15 September 2012 Loss 21 – 11
44  Australia Pretoria, South Africa Loftus Versfeld Stadium 2012 Rugby Championship 29 September 2012 Win 31 – 8
45
46
47  New Zealand Johannesburg, South Africa
FNB Stadium
 2012 Rugby Championship 6 October 2012 Loss 16 – 32
48  Italy Durban, South Africa Mr Price Kings Park 2013 June rugby union tests 8 June 2013 Win 44 – 10
49  Samoa Pretoria, South Africa Loftus Versfeld Stadium 2013 June rugby union tests 22 June 2013 Win 56 – 23
50
51  Argentina Johannesburg, South Africa
FNB Stadium
 2013 Rugby Championship 17 August 2013 Win 73 – 13
52  New Zealand Johannesburg, South Africa Coca-Cola Park 2013 Rugby Championship 5 October 2013 Loss 27 – 38
53
54  Wales Durban, South Africa Growthpoint Kings Park 2014 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa 14 June 2014 Win 38 – 16
55
56  Argentina Salta, Argentina Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena 2014 Rugby Championship 23 August 2014 Win 31 – 33
57  Italy Padua, Italy Stadio Euganeo 2014 end-of-year rugby union internationals 22 November 2014 Win 6 – 22
58  Argentina Durban, South Africa Growthpoint Kings Park 2015 Rugby Championship 8 August 2015 Loss 25 – 37
59  Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina José Amalfitani Stadium 2015 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches 15 August 2015 Win 12 – 26
60  Samoa Birmingham, England Villa Park 2015 Rugby World Cup 26 September 2015 Win 46 – 6
61  Scotland Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
St. James' Park
 2015 Rugby World Cup 3 October 2015 Win 34 – 16
62  
United States
 London, England
Olympic Stadium
 2015 Rugby World Cup 7 October 2015 Win 64 – 0
63
64
65  Argentina Salta, Argentina Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena 2016 Rugby Championship 27 August 2016 Loss 26 – 24
66  New Zealand Christchurch, New Zealand AMI Stadium 2016 Rugby Championship 17 September 2016 Loss 41 – 13
67  Italy Florence, Italy Stadio Artemio Franchi 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals 19 November 2016 Loss 20 – 18

Honours

Blue Bulls

Bulls

Western Province

Toulon

South Africa

South Africa Rugby Union Awards

  • SARU Player of the Year: 2005, 2007 and 2012
  • SuperSport Try of the year: 2007,[10] 2012

International Rugby Board awards

  • International Rugby Board
    Player of the Year: 2007
  • International Rugby Players' Association Try of the Year: 2012[11]
  • World Rugby Hall of Fame Inductee Number 166: 2023

Personal life

On 20 September 2009, Habana married his longtime girlfriend, Janine Viljoen.[12]

He was named after Bryan Robson and Gary Bailey by his Manchester United–loving parents.

See also

References

  1. ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Bryan Habana". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  2. ^ "bryanhabana.com: About". Archived from the original on 6 April 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2006.
  3. ^ Kimmage, Paul (14 October 2007). "Bryan Habana has a spring in his step". The Times. London. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  4. ^ Man Races World's Fastest Cat. CNN.com, 16 April 2007.
  5. ^ Habana named IRB Player of the Year. 22 October 2007.
  6. ^ Habana hails his fellow Barbarian Archived 2 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Toulon sign South Africa winger Bryan Habana from the Stormers". ESPN scrum. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  8. ^ "'One of the greatest': Springboks record tryscorer Bryan Habana retires from rugby". 25 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Bryan Gary Habana". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Habana crowned player of the year". mg.co.za. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  11. ^ "International Rugby Board - IRB Awards". Archived from the original on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  12. Independent Online
    . South Africa. 24 July 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2011.

External links

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