Former Springboks winger BryanHabana used to imagine himself as a footballer who would eventually wear the famous red jersey of ManUtd and fly the SA flag high internationally.
“I hadn’t even played the sport before, so that’s where I did for the first time because I knew I wanted to achieve the goal of representing SA. I started dreaming incredibly hard about this,” he said.
“It was the U14 team, I was a very tiny boy, whose neck wasn’t visible whenever I was wearing shoulder pads,” he laughed.His father then became a source of encouragement, rallying behind him with support so that his aspirations of ending up in the national squad could be fulfilled.“That’s when I started seeing potential of where I could really go. I will never forget the first time I got my first payment from rugby, I felt like a millionaire. I made sure I spoiled my two siblings.
BERLIN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 17: Laureus Academy Member Bryan Habana and his wife Janine Viljoen attend the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards at Verti Music Hall on February 17, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. But like any other parent, his father advised him to enroll for a course at Rand Afrikaans Universiteit .“I knew I could make a career out of this game that I had completely fallen in love with, but school was also very important, so I enrolled for BSc in IT .
In November 2004, he made his test debut for the Springboks, representing his country for the first time.“My parents were sitting in the stands watching me. I played against then world champions, England. I scored my first try with my first touch of the ball. I understood how it felt to represent my country, my family and myself. I didn’t want that to be a one-time thing, I wanted to keep doing it for as long as I could.
From this point, Habana’s pathway to the the Bok team was smoother, elevating him closer to his end goal of wearing that dark green and gold jersey.After retiring in 2018, Habana now runs his own business, while playing a major role as a father to his two children.
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