Bryan Habana Posts Heartfelt Message On The Current State Of South African Rugby

Springbok legend Bryan Habana has posted a heartfelt message on the current state of South African rugby.

Allister Coetzee’s side slipped to sixth in the world this week, their worst ranking in history following a disastrous November series that saw them go down to the likes of England, Wales and Italy.

Habana was dropped for the Wales clash as his side lost 27-13 at the Principality. A record eighth defeat in a calendar year, and only the third in 110 years by Wales, has proved the final straw and the South African Rugby Union has promised root-and-branch reform.

As a result, the legendary winger has taken to Instagram today, posting the following message.

The pain, disappointment and lows of what happened over the past 3 weeks and that has been happening over the past 6 months is by far the toughest and lowest I have ever experienced in my rugby career, and I’ve had many lows.

To even begin to explain where it’s all gone wrong is immensely difficult as there are so many things across the board to dissect and you cannot put it down to just one thing.

Purely from a players perspective, our onfield performances, bar a few individuals at certain times, hasn’t been up to standard and we take full responsibility for that despite all the off field issues.

Personally, I honestly felt that I could make a positive influence and impact both on and off the field in 2016 and unfortunately I haven’t been able to do that and I apologise for the part I played in the results of this year.

I fully understand the hurt, dissatisfaction and despair felt about where this current Springbok team is and I’m also prepared to face all the criticism that comes my way in the part I’ve played.

Like you all, I also want to see the Springboks be a force to be reckoned with and instill pride back into the jersey and be that symbol of hope and unity that it has been on so many occasions for our country.

I believe open and honest discussions need to be had with all the key role players, administrators, politicians, coaches and players to start a proper process of rebuilding and implementation of structures.

Whether or not I’m a part of this group going forward, or whether changes get made on an administrative, coaching or players level, we can never lose the belief that we can fix it.