Springbok legend Bryan Habana has announced his retirement from all rugby and will hang up his boots at the end of the current season.
The 34-year-old, who is South Africa’s all-time leading try scorer with 67 tries from his 124 Tests, confirmed the news in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
“The inevitable moment has come knocking on my door and I’ve welcomed it in for a drink,” Habana wrote.
“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.
“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.”
Habana has enjoyed an illustrious career, achieving World Cup glory with the Springboks in 2007, twice winning Super Rugby with the Bulls as well as being crowned back-to-back European champions with Toulon.