Springbok legendBryan Habana announced on Tuesday that he will retire from all formats of rugby at the end of the current season.
The 34-year-old last appeared for the Springboks in November 2016, when the team suffered a humiliating loss against Italy, and has spent most of the time since battling injury, trying to get fit enough to return to the field for French club Toulon.
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," he wrote in an Instagram post. "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."
It's a disappointing way to go out, as much for his fans as for himself. Habana was arguably one of the best Boks of the 21st century – and certainly one of the best wings.
He is the Springboks' all-time leading try scorer, with 67 tries from his 124 Tests. He was in Jake White's 2007 World Cup-winning team, and then in the Tri-Nations-winning Boks of 2009. He's also a two-time Super Rugby champion with the Blue Bulls, in 2007 and 2009, and a two-time Currie Cup victor — with the Bulls in 2009, and Western Province in 2012.
To celebrate the legend, here is a look at his 10 best career tries. Thanks for the memories, Bryan.