100th Springbok Test – Bryan Habana

Sep 4 • General News, International, Springbok News, Springboks, The Rugby Championship • 2195 Views • Comments Off on 100th Springbok Test – Bryan Habana

On Saturday, Bryan Gary Habana will become the fourth Springbok to play 100 Tests for South Africa.

Springbok number 766, Habana, was born in Johannesburg on 12 June 1983. He attended Meredale Primary and King Edward VII School before enrolling at the University of Johannesburg (then still called the Rand Afrikaans University) in B.Sc (Information Technology).

He made his provincial debut for the Golden Lions in 2003, his Test debut a year later and played the first of his 118 Vodacom Super Rugby matches in 2005.

To date, Habana has amassed 99 Tests and scored 56 tries, a South African record. He scored his first Test try with his first touch of the ball in an international, against then Rugby World Cup champions England at Twickenham.

On 22 September 2011 he scored his 39^th Test try, against Namibia, to surpass Joost van der Westhuizen as the most-prolific try scorer in Springbok history. His 50^th Test try was scored against Samoa on 22 June 2013.

All but one of Habana’s Test appearances have been on the wing – he played once at outside centre, against Ireland in 2006.

Earlier this week in Perth, where the Springboks are preparing to face Australia in the third round of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, Habana said the focus should not be on his special milestone, but rather for the Boks to continue improving.

“It’s obviously very special for me to reach this milestone, but this weekend isn’t about me – it’s about the team and what we want to achieve,” said Habana.

“I’ve been blessed with many highlights during my career and I’m very thankful for that, as well as the magnificent support I’ve received from my family, friends, team-mates and coaches through the years.

“However, we have a job to do on Saturday and that remains the bottom line.”

Honours and accolades:

·         2004: Springbok Sevens, SA Under-21, SA Young Player of the Year

·         2005: SA Rugby Player of the Year, Vodacom Super Rugby Player of the Year, Supersport Try of the Year (Vodacom Bulls v Blues in Pretoria)

·         2007: IRB Player of the Year, SA Rugby Player of the Year, scored eight tries at RWC to equal the record set by Jonah Lomu in 1995, Supersport Try of the Year (Vodacom Bulls v Cell C Sharks in Durban, Vodacom Super Rugby final)

·         2012: SA Rugby Player of the Year, IRPA/Supersport Try of the Year (against New Zealand in Dunedin)

Test record against opponents:

Test tries:

Test tries per season:

Provincial career:

2003-04: Golden Lions – 21 games, 17 tries, 85 points

2005-09: Blue Bulls – 14 games, 9 tries, 45 points

2010-12: Western Province – 8 games, 2 tries, 10 points

Total: 43 games, 28 tries, 140 points

Vodacom Super Rugby career:

2005-09: Vodacom Bulls – 61 games, 37 tries, 185 points

2010-13: DHL Stormers – 57 games, 19 tries, 95 points

Total: 118 games, 56 tries, 280 points

Overseas career:

2013-14: Toulon (France) – 10 games, 1 try, 5 points

2008, 2009 and 2011: Barbarians – 3 games, 3 tries

100th Springbok Test – Bryan Habana

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