THE NEW LIFE OF BRYAN
Habana takes retirement in his stride
You’re earning a lot of money at a much younger age than most … The money does dry up … You go from earning a salary equivalent to a CEO … a lot of people struggle in the transitional period … All of a sudden you have to buy your own clothes …
Habana during an interview on The Money Show
I’m very different from many other players of colour growing up in SA. I didn’t grow up underprivileged.
I got given the best opportunities. I went to the best schools
Habana during an interview on The Money Show
Bryan Habana looks at home in the plush setting of a luxury hotel overlooking the Mediterranean lapping the shores of Monte Carlo. He is, after all, rugby royalty, so the trappings of success sit lightly on his square shoulders.
The all-time leading Springbok tryscorer retired from the sport that made him famous 10 months ago, though he hadn’t played a game for a year prior to his official retirement.
The transition — from adored athlete, World Cup-winning hero and World Player of the Year to ex-player — doesn’t appear to have fazed Habana. He seems to have made the adjustment as seamlessly as he used to round defenders on his way to the try line.
Due to its merciless nature, rugby is littered with wounded former players and even the great Habana wasn’t able to successfully engineer his own scripted exit from the sport, despite a career that seemed the epitome of control and precision.
Habana’s frustrating final days were at French club Toulon, and his 124th and final Test for the Springboks ended in the ignominious 20-18 defeat by Italy in Florence in November 2016.
“The end of my career was not how I envisaged it going,” Habana told the Sunday Times at the recent Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco.
“My final season was extremely disappointing. My last game was against Castres at Stade Mayol [Toulon’s home ground] on April 27 2017. I really miss playing.”
For most professional athletes, especially those who have risen to the pinnacle of their chosen sport, the adjustment to “real” life is challenging. But Habana seems to be making the transition successfully and with a plan. He had time to ponder and plot his post-rugby future in that final, frustrating season in the south of France, and that wellused downtime appears to be paying off.
“It’s been an adjustment because the ‘real’ world is quite different to the bubble that is professional sports, and I’m still trying to find my feet,” Habana said.
“Obviously I miss the financial aspect of the sport. Being paid pretty well to do what you love for nearly 16 years is special.
“But I also miss the routine from a physical-training aspect — although I don’t miss the massive contact. Training is something I’ve really been poor at maintaining since retiring. I still look okay thanks to good genes and not because of hard work.
“I also miss the banter in the change room and the need to fight for a single cause with a group of men who are among the best in their profession. The emotion of running out in front of 50,000 people can’t be matched. There is nothing in real life that gives you the same feeling.
“But I’m also fortunate that I had many moments like that in my rugby career. I also never based my life solely on my rugby. I didn’t view myself only as ‘Bryan Habana the rugby player’.”
Habana, 35, was smart enough to understand that when the lights faded, he would need a plan for the next phase of his life. Not many people have risen to the top of a chosen profession, been feted and glorified, and then quietly slipped into relative anonymity, all by their mid-30s. That’s Habana’s reality.
“I thought the transition period would be a little less hectic than it has been,” Habana said with a wide smile.
He is based in Cape Town with his wife, Janine, and their two children, but spends two weeks out of each month overseas.
“I’ve been doing some television work on Channel Four in Britain, I’m on the HSBC World Sevens Series roster and in the next month I will be announcing an ambassadorship for one of the 2019 Rugby World Cup sponsors.
“So I’m going to be pretty busy while I see where life takes me. I had given myself 18 months to transition and it’s going well.”
One potential career path Habana has ruled out is that of coaching. Having spent almost all of his adult life as a professional rugby player, the last place he wants to end up is in the coach’s booth on a Saturday. But that doesn’t diminish his respect for the people who take on the often-thankless task of coaching a top rugby team.
“Being a coach is one of the most difficult jobs in the world, especially of the Springboks,” Habana said.
“Not enough credit goes to the coaches. They do a huge amount of work. They arrive before the players, leave after the players and start analysis hours after a game when the players are resting or out enjoying themselves.
“They don’t have job stability. A player has a three-year contract and generally, regardless of what happens to him, he sees it out. A coach’s job rests on the form of a team, even if he is potentially the best coach in the world.
“A lot of credit needs to be given to coaches for the work they do because they are often unsung, like teachers.
“So, for me, at the moment, coaching is a ‘no’. I want to step out in the corporate world sooner rather than later.
“If there is an opportunity in the distant future to give back as a consultant in terms of the experience I have, then I would consider it.
“But coaching is out of the question. I gave rugby everything I had for 16 years and now it’s time to spend a few more weekends with my wife and kids.”
Like all avid rugby supporters, Habana has passionate opinions about the issues that plague the game, especially in SA.
With RWC 2019 in Japan in September looming, it’s not just talk about the Springboks’ chances that is on the rise, but also discussions about the future of the team, its players and its coaching structure. Habana has an opinion on these subjects.
“If Rassie Erasmus does stop coaching the Boks after the World Cup, the next coach has to be well chosen,” Habana said, referring to speculation that the incumbent might not see out his coaching contract until 2023.
“Given the intricacies of rugby in SA, we definitely need someone who understands what our country is about. They need to understand our history and the way we work. We do have a very different system compared to any other rugby nation because we come with a completely different history and a different idea of the future.
“Someone like John Mitchell understands it and so does Eddie Jones. But we need to get the best person for the job, given the requirements. We also need to consider a coach of colour, which would be a strong symbol of SA’s future.
“It’s a complex and difficult decision, but it’s one of many that SA Rugby has to grapple with in the coming months and years.
“The flow of players out of the country is a concern and the competition structures need addressing.”
One of the alarming problems facing rugby is a decline in attendance at matches. In Habana’s glory years with the Bulls in Pretoria, they regularly played in front of 50,000 people at Loftus.
While he was in the bubble of being a pro athlete, Habana didn’t really consider the game outside of his immediate and necessary world view. But now that he has time, he is concerned about rugby’s future.
“It’s difficult to say why fewer people are attending matches,” he said. “A big factor has potentially been the dilution of Super Rugby in the past three to four years and people not really understanding the format.
“Sanzaar [the body which operates Super Rugby and the Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union] also included the [Argentine] Jaguares and the [Japanese] Sunwolves, who have possibly not raised the standards of the game as they had hoped.
Also, he adds, “It’s easier to watch eight games on TV on a Saturday. In SA, you can do the morning session of games from New Zealand and Australia, have a break and watch games in the afternoon played in SA over a braai with your mates.
“The amount of rugby that is shown is definitely a factor in keeping people from stadiums. But the cost of living and the tough economy make it more attractive to stay home rather than spend R1,000 for a family of four to go to a Super Rugby game. And that’s before you’ve bought food or drinks.
“The first thing to go is entertainment when budgets are tight.
“SA’s relative lack of success at Super Rugby level in the past several years hasn’t helped either. Even though the Lions have made the finals, we haven’t seen a South African winner in nearly a decade.
“I would love to see a return to nearly full stadiums but it will take success on the field as well as many other factors to improve to see that again.”
A few more Bryan Habanas scorching down the touchline wouldn’t hurt either.