DHL Stormers legend: Bryan Habana
Regarded as one of the most lethal wingers ever, Bryan Habana was a star performer and consummate professional for the DHL Stormers.
Between 2010 and 2013, Habana thrilled and entertained the DHL Stormers and DHL Western Province fans with his express pace and elite finishing as part of a dynamic and explosive backline.
With Habana carving apart defences from the wide channels, the DHL Stormers featured in the playoff stages of Super Rugby for three successive seasons, and dotted down in the historic 2010 final against his former side, the Vodacom Bulls, in Soweto.
He scored 19 tries in 57 appearances for the DHL Stormers, and also won his second Currie Cup winners’ medal with DHL WP in 2012.
The Springboks’ all-time leading try scorer, and second among all-time Test try scorers, Habana achieved almost everything there was to achieve in the sport over a decorated 15-year professional career.
The 2007 IRB Player of the Year ended with 67 tries from 124 Tests, and is also fourth on the Springboks’ all-time points scorers list despite having never taken a shot at goal.
In 2007, Habana equalled Jonah Lomu’s World Cup record for the most tries at a single tournament (eight) in South Africa’s tournament triumph, and tied the All Black icon’s all-time record of 15 at the 2015 edition.
Habana made his Test debut as a replacement against England in 2004, scoring a try with his first touch of the ball and a year later, his two long-range tries against Australia in Perth helped the Springboks win their first Tri-Nations match overseas since 1998.
In 2009, Habana scored a memorable try in the second Test against the British & Irish Lions to help the Springboks claim the series, before adding a Tri-Nations title to his name a few months later.
A Springbok Sevens international who was the top try-scorer at the 2004 U21 World Championship, Habana was a three-time SA Player of the Year winner (2005, 2007 and 2012), won Super Rugby and the Investec Champions Cup twice, and the French Top 14 once, before he hung up his boots in 2018.
Habana’s DHL Stormers numbers
57 – The number of matches he played for the DHL Stormers from 2010 to 2013
19 – The number of tries he scored for the DHL Stormers
