Habana edges closer to greatness

Cap Town - Amidst all the doom and gloom currently accompanying Springbok rugby, wing Bryan Habana has taken another step towards greatness. 

The 33-year-old scored the Boks' first try in their historic 20-18 loss to Italy in Florence on Saturday. 

While the headlines that followed were all rightly devoted to one of the biggest shocks in Springbok history, Habana is now just two tries away from leveling the all-time record for tries scores in Test matches. 

That record currently stands at 69 tries and belongs to Japanese wing Daisuke Ohata, though most of those tries were scored against second-tier nations. 

Habana holds the record among the top-tier nations, having scored 67 tries in 124 Tests. 

There is an element of uncertainty surrounding Habana's international future, and with a dark cloud hovering over Springbok coach Allister Coetzee right now, what role Habana will play next year is not clear at all. 

The Boks have one match left in 2016 when they take on Wales on Saturday. 

All-time leading try scorers in Tests:

69 - Daisuhe Ohata (Japan)

67 - Bryan Habana (SA)

64 - David Campese (Australia)

60 - Shane Williams (Wales and British and Irish Lions)

55 - Hirotoki Onozawa (Japan)

50 - Rory Underwood (England and British and Irish Lions)

49 - Doug Howlett (NZ)

47 - Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland and British and Irish Lions)