Habana still has Bok ambitions
“I’m still available for Springbok selection. If I do play well enough in the Top14, then hopefully I still merit selection.”
|||Cape Town - Bryan Habana is yet to have a one-to-one chat with Allister Coetzee about his own international future. The 32 year old, who’s played 117 Tests, believes there’s still a role for him with the Springboks, but wants to talk to Coetzee first.
“I’m still available for Springbok selection. If I do play well enough in the Top14 (for Toulon), then hopefully I still merit selection for the Springbok side.
“Even if not picked by Coetzee, Habana would be happy to participate for the Boks even if only in a mentoring capacity. “If it’s 117 all out, then I definitely can’t complain, I’ve had a fantastic career, through the highs and the lows. I think I can still contribute, not just by playing, but in terms of mentoring and laying a marker for what it means to be a Springbok for the next generation.
“Habana won’t be available for Coetzee’s first squad that faces Ireland owing to his commitment to playing for the South African Sevens side in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August.
“The Sevens came as a curve ball. But for any athlete to be part of an Olympic Games is unreal, the biggest sporting event globally.”Playing in Las Vegas and Vancouver (for the Bok Sevens side) was very special. Physically it was very challenging.”
The Star