Bryan Habana loses fight to earn place in South Africa’s Olympic sevens squad
Former World Rugby Player of the Year Bryan Habana was overlooked on Thursday when South Africa named a 12-man squad for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games sevens tournament.
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Former World Rugby Player of the Year Bryan Habana was overlooked on Thursday when South Africa named a 12-man squad for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games sevens tournament.
Club commitments with French giants Toulon limited the seven-a-side appearances of the Springbok winger, who has scored 320 points in 117 tests.
Now 33, Habana was part of the 2007 Rugby World Cup-winning squad and his electric pace made him a feared international opponent for more than a decade.
He played in the 2015 RWC in England, where South Africa came third, but was not part of the squad for a 2-1 home series win over Ireland last month.
Kyle Brown skippers a squad that includes Cheslin Kolbe and Seabelo Senatla, who turned out for Western Stormers in the early rounds of this Super Rugby season.
South Africa are in group B with Australia, France and shock qualifiers Spain for the August 6-11 tournament.
They finished runners-up behind Fiji in the 2015-16 World Rugby Sevens Series, winning one of the 10 tournaments and finishing runners-up in three others.
South Africa sevens squad for Rio Olympics
Kyle Brown (c), Tim Agaba, Philip Snyman, Werner Kok, Dylan Sage, Kwagga Smith, Rosko Specman, Cheslin Kolbe, Cecil Afrika, Justin Geduld, Juan de Jongh, Seabelo Senatla
Travelling reserves: Chris Dry, Francois Hougaard
