It’s time to say goodbye: Bryan Habana
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It’s time to say goodbye: Bryan Habana

Updated | By Jacaranda FM News

Springbok legend Bryan Habana has announced that he will retire from rugby at the end of the season.

Bryan Habana
Bryan Habana. Instagram.

The 34-year-old was in 2007 named the World Rugby Player of the Year.

 

Habana is the only player since rugby unity in 1992 who has won the SA Rugby Player of the Year Award three times – in 2005, 2007 and 2012.

 

SA Rugby President, Mark Alexander, says the union was privileged to have witnessed Habana’s career and that he will always be remembered as one of the great legends of the game.

 

“During a career that spanned more than a decade and a half, he stood out as one of the most professional players ever to don the Springbok jersey, and over the years Bryan has been central to many of the most memorable occasions in the era of professional rugby.”

 

Habana atook to Instagram to express his gratitude to the game.

 

Habana wrote the moment has come knocking and he welcomes it with a drink.

 

"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," he wrote.

 

"It’s time to say goodbye and thank you to the game I so dearly love."

So it’s my turn to say Thank You: . The inevitable moment has come knocking on my door and I’ve welcomed it in for a drink. . 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 gut-wrenching despair. To hear the roar of the crowd or grab the pill out of the air. To make that last bone crunching tackle or score that last game winning try. 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. . To try and sum up the past 16 years and how quickly they’ve flown by or even begin to describe how amazing the journey has been is impossible. . I would though like to express my gratitude: . • First and foremost, to God for blessing me with the talent to play this beautiful game. • To my wife Janine, Timothy and our newborn Gabriel, for your support, sacrifice and love to follow me to all corners of the earth so that I can pursue my dreams. • To my family and friends, far and wide, who wore their hearts on their sleeves as much as I did. • To the coaches, team-mates, medical and support staff in all the teams I was involved in. • To every opponent that made the battle tough and worthwhile. • To all my sponsors over the years who believed in me enough to support me on the journey. • To the fans, who make the game what it is. • To the critics, not to prove you wrong but so that I could prove to myself I could. • To the media, who take the game to households the world over. • To the lessons learnt, through the good times and the bad. • To the friendships made and experiences a plenty. . But most of all to Rugby, because for me it truly is a game made in heaven. . As a close friend one said: “memories are all we have.” And I’m immensely grateful for the memories I take with me into the next chapter. . With much respect . BH11

A post shared by Bryan Habana (@bryanhabana_) on

Career highlights:

•    Became the first South African to reach 50 Test tries when he scored twice against Samoa in June 2013.

•    Became the fourth Springbok to reach 100 Test caps against Australia in Perth in 2014, behind Percy Montgomery, John Smit and Victor Matfield.

•    Scored the most Vodacom Super Rugby tries by any South African.

•    Played 123 Tests on the wing and once at centre.

•    Other international matches: four tour matches for South Africa and three matches for the Barbarians.

•    Holds the record for the most career tries in the Castle Rugby Championship (21).

•    Honours: SA Rugby Player of the Year (2012, 2007 & 2005); Young Player of the Year (2004); World Rugby Player of the Year (2007); Vodacom Super Rugby Player of the Tournament (2005); SuperSport Try of the Year (2005, Vodacom Bulls vs Blues in Pretoria; 2007, Vodacom Bulls vs Cell C Sharks in the Final in Durban; and 2012, South Africa vs New Zealand in Dunedin).

•    Scored a record-equalling eight tries during RWC 2007.

•    Equalled Jonah Lomu's record of 15 tries in all RWC games in 2015.

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