‘One of the greatest’ Springbok legends Habana retires

PARIS: South Africa’s record tryscorer Bryan Habana announced on Tuesday he was hanging up his boots after a glittering career at the end of his French Top 14 club Toulon’s season.

In an emotional post on Instagram the veteran wing, who turns 35 in June, said: “The inevitable moment has come knocking on my door and I’ve welcomed it in for a drink.”

Knee-injury victim Habana, who last played for Toulon in April 2017, added: “It’s been more than a year of hoping, trying, pushing and willing to get back on the field for one last time, to taste the sweet victory or encounter that gutwrenching despair.

“But it’s unfortunately just not to be. I, like most, would have liked my career to have ended differently, but sometimes things don’t turn out quite the way we hope for.

“So at the end of this season, it’s time to say goodbye and thank you to the game I so dearly love.”

He was hailed as “one of the greatest South African sportsmen of all time” by South African rugby federation chief Mark Alexander.

Habana arrived at Toulon for the 2013-2014 season, playing in two victorious European Cup teams as well as collecting a Top 14 title.

With 124 Springbok caps he is second in the all-time list only to Victor Matfield but holds his country’s record of 67 Test tries, the first coming against England at Twickenham in November 2004.

He played a critical role in South Africa’s 2007 World Cup triumph, scoring a record-equalling eight tries but his Springbok career ended on a low note in Florence in November 2016 with a historic maiden 20-18 loss to Italy.

He equalled the late New Zealand great Jonah Lomu’s 15-try World Cup haul in 2015.

He was named world player of the year in 2007, and was South Africa player of the year in 2005, 2007 and 2012.

“As a player, Bryan has set the bar incredibly high for succeeding generations,” Alexander added on the federation’s website.