Bryan Habana – The HSBC SVNS Series Is Incredibly Diverse & We Should Celebrate That

We joked when we sat down with Bryan Habana in the Singapore National Stadium’s Media Centre during the Singapore SVNS, “Another city and another Rugby Sevens weekend.”

We have spoken to the legendary former Springbok several times, but we didn’t know this was also his first trip to the Lion City – so we delved into his experience of Singapore, what makes Sevens Rugby so appealing, and embracing the diversity of the SVNS circuit.

“Yeah, so this is a virgin experience for me, getting to come to Singapore for the very first time.” The former RWC 2007 winner and World Rugby Player of the Year was due to visit a few years ago before the pandemic scuppered those plans. Now that he was in Singapore he was absolutely loving it.

“I’ve been absolutely floored by what is an incredible city, the palpable energy, magnificent architecture, incredible cuisine. So it’s been busy, busy and I’m starting to plan a budget in my head of how I could bring my family back in a couple of years because it’s just that cool here.”

Bryan Habana is an experienced campaigner when working as an HSBC ambassador but finds a great way to balance work and having fun.

“I got up to the Marina Bay Sands and experienced probably one of the most epic views in the world – that’s insane. 

Photo Credit: Bryan Habana – The HSBC Ambassadors enjoying Singapore

We (he was in Singapore with fellow HSBC ambassador Alicia Lucas) also witnessed the massive impact in the game at the elite level but also at the grassroots, and the chance to give back resonates so much with us ‘red polo ambassadors’ because you get to interact with people and just show the beauty of sport purely through the interaction of Singaporeans, who would have never known who myself or Alicia – the Olympic gold medalist – are,” he added. 

“Just seeing the joy in those sessions and the hope and inspiration. Potentially we will see a few Singaporeans go on to the great Sevens fields around the world in the not-too-distant future. So it’s been brilliant.”

Since Bryan Habana hung up his boots on an illustrious career, he has carved out a successful path working in the media as a pundit, is involved in several tech projects, and has been a long-serving HSBC Ambassador in addition to his philanthropic and charity work. He remains positive about the future of the game and its layered impacts.

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Driving The Sevens Rugby Game

“What for me are probably the top one or two main driving factors about Sevens Rugby being so incredible, is the fact that there’s just such a multi-diverse cultural environment present at every stadium. 

You’ve got 24 teams from all over the world, 12 men and 12 women, and anywhere from 15-20 nations represented with South African, Australian, British, American, Fijian etc heritage from all over the place. It is so beautiful to see that coming together – so many cultural opportunities that have never happened, and that never happened in the 15s format of the game. 

The fact that women have now had an opportunity to play in Singapore for the first time ever following up last year in Hong Kong.

I think the parity of 12 teams each has been challenging for the players to get into a different mindset of what has happened in the prior years, aligning with Olympic protocol, but it has also left the game in a place where firstly, you can not rest on any of your laurels, and secondly, the on-field opportunity creates so much more excitement.

We’ve seen teams vying for the final two top-eight spots to make Madrid, plus the Blitzboks haven’t qualified for the Olympics and that Repechage is happening in a couple of months time. “

Bryan Habana added, “In the female game, New Zealand and Australia, are probably a little bit ahead of the competition. But you had the likes of GB in a final, the Irish women in a final, the USA in a final, and saw the French women rise and look strong. 

I think that is really the change of format – the parity across the men and women, both in terms of play and pay, which I think is brilliant. But that multi-diverse cultural experience, you rarely get it in sport, which I think is absolutely brilliant too.”

Continual Growth And Evolution Of The Game Of Sevens

We agree that parity has been essential and the impact at the tournaments we have attended as well as the rise in popularity of the women’s players and profile. We asked Habana how that has come about.

“HSBC has been a key component of the impact that they’ve put into place for the growth of the women’s game. The fact that the likes of Nolli Waterman and Alicia Lucas have become global brand ambassadors for the game of Sevens. HSBC resonates with the values that HSBC portrays. And I think that’s incredible for a global organisation to understand – what it needs to do to really bring across diversity and inclusion.

In Hong Kong last year, it was the first time ever there were more ladies than males as HSBC ambassadors – we were outnumbered which was brilliant,” said Habana smiling.

“I think if you look at Alisha Lucas’s story – she started playing rugby late – she was 18 and was playing a bit of touch footy but went on to win Olympic gold in Sevens Rugby, and Nolli’s story – who played 90% of her career in the amateur era but played both fifteens and sevens – and the way they’ve pioneered this next generation,” explained Habana.

One thing which is humbling and sincere about all of the HSBC ambassadors we have spoken to over the years is the genuine respect and admiration they gave for each other’s careers and achievements.

The South African mentioned attending a session with HSBC Executives in Singapore and seeing the “pure and raw emotion” as Alicia talked through her journey to winning a gold medal and “how a girl from Wagga Wagga never had an inkling to even start dreaming about going to the Olympics, and then a few years after first picking up a rugby ball was playing every single minute & winning gold in Rio.”

“As a male who’s been given a huge amount of opportunity and a platform to portray your craft – to see the role that HSBC in particular, along with some of the other big sponsors have played in the growth of the game, and being able to get parity out in the field – that visual attraction for people to actually understand how phenomenal these women are!

You see Portia Woodman-Wycliffe – she’s not only the top scorer in Rugby World Cup history – beating myself and Jonah Lomu – she now has become a 250-try scorer in Sevens. 

New Zealand’s Portia Woodman-wickliffe scores a try against Australia in the cup final on day three of the HSBC SVNS at National Stadium on 5 May, 2024 in Singapore. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

Then you’ve got the likes of Michaela Blyde, the Levi sisters – and for Maddi, it is phenomenal at 21 years old to break a record of scoring 42 tries in a season, and Tyla King – I can keep going.

In the men’s game, which is still incredibly strong, on this road to Paris 24 you see the likes of Antoine Dupont & Michael Hooper, who are very much like me, and Sonny Bill Williams, and Quade Cooper trying their hand at chasing that Olympic dream, which is an absolute rarity within the rugby space and only a select few get the privilege of doing that. 

The competition is really strong, and there are a lot of administrative elements going on from a World Rugby perspective, making sure that there is growth in the game.

We head into Madrid where the winner will get crowned among the top eight, and then the Challenger Series which creates a little bit more spice, although not as much spice as the chilli crab over here in Singapore!”

Global Stars Showcasing Their Talents

We mentioned to Bryan Habana how in our discussion with Nolli in Hong Kong, and across all of the stops on the Asian circuit of the SVNS – it has been the connections aspiring players have to see these stars and to be able to engage with them that is so important for the game’s growth.

“It is the connections but it is the opportunity for those incredible female superstars to showcase their talents. And 5-10 years ago, they weren’t given the broadcast, they weren’t given the opportunity on the same field as the men to portray their craft. 

All of a sudden, it becomes a tangible real connection. And for young girls who don’t really see rugby as this physically brutal, masculine sport, but to see how incredibly, scientifically and athletically driven these women are out in the field and the impact they’re making.

Not just someone like Portia, who it feels like has been around forever and still dominating. But youngsters like Jorja Miller (The 20-year-old would go on to win the player of the match in the final in Singapore which NZ won) coming onto the scene. The Levi sisters – it’s scary to think Maddi is only 21 and Teagan is just 19 so they will be doing this for years to come.”

Australia’s Maddison Levi races away from the New Zealand defence in the cup final on day three of the HSBC SVNS at National Stadium on 5 May, 2024 in Singapore. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

Bryan Habana On Chasing Olympic Goals & Broken Dreams 

Habana added, “Young girls especially, are able to start dreaming as big as possible – and realising that they can potentially make a full career now from Rugby Sevens. And not only that – but have a crack at going to the Olympics. No fifteens player can say that – no fifteens player can say ‘In what we do, we have an opportunity at some point in our career, if we stay in this channel, to go to the Olympics,” Habana said.

“The Sevens dream, in particular for the likes of China, and America, these massive nations where the Olympic dream is just such an idyllic goal for so many. To now realistically be able to know that these pioneers are out on the field, but more importantly for the women. 

I don’t think you get a more beautiful story than the Australian woman in 2016 – to see what they received as accolades going back into Australia and the impact that they had was absolutely brilliant.

I am gutted I missed out on Rio 2016 and getting to sit in the dining hall with Rafa Nadal, Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps – these phenomenal, legendary athletes. 

The experience that gave them and the world of opportunity that was created for them is priceless.”

We asked the former Springbok – who did play Sevens and Fifteens, and won so much in the sport, how easy it is to compartmentalise and stay focused on tournament by tournament and game by game and ignoring what’s on the horizon.

This question especially feels more tangible considering that at least three Sevens players have been ruled out for Madrid and the Olympics following injuries sustained in Singapore.

“I think you still worry about injuries, but the more you try actually to hold back because you are worried about injuries, the more you open yourself up to be injured. 

Unfortunately, injuries are part of any professional sport. We see the likes of Sonny Bill Williams, who was injured in the second game of the Rio 2016 tournament – to have worked so hard to get to the goal and someone of his superstar status but he just did not get that full opportunity. 

Within any professional structure, whether you’re an athlete, whether you’re a corporate, or whether you’re a professional, it’s fundamentally important to have those long-term goals. But it’s more systematically important to have those mini goals to overcome and achieve before you can get there.”

Bryan Habana @ Australian International School – Singapore SVNS 2024

Bryan Habans explained, “I do think the mini goals and enjoying the moments are important and sometimes you forget and you look back at your career, and hindsight is the best vision, you say you should have enjoyed it more.

But being a professional athlete, you just need to be so attuned to do the fundamentals so well, consistently over a long period of time. Unfortunately, if you do look ahead, you sort of miss what’s in front of you.”

On What It Meant To Play Sevens Rugby – Bryan Habana

“I love travelling, I love touring, and chasing the sun around the world is probably one of the most incredible experiences I have had. On the SVNS circuit, the players become such a tight-knit family in comparison to the 15s because it’s just so much bigger, so much more encompassing. 

In Sevens, you’re carrying each other’s bags, checking each other’s bags in at the airport, you’re making sure that none of your teammates steal your socks, because there’s only a limited number of socks that are available,” said Habana laughing.

“For me when I came back into the setup in 2016 and got to experience some of that – it was vastly different from when I first played Sevens in 2004. It truly is a proper professional setup and environment – structurally and developmentally.

New Zealand were at the forefront of being the first ones to create a centrally contracted Sevens circuit for women, which again, just shows how long it took for the likes of Australia to catch up because of that, and the likes of Brazil or Japan, have come so far. 

There’s just so much excitement around the game of Sevens. And for me, it’s probably the easiest entry point for a new fan to the game, which becomes extremely exciting. It’s fast-paced, it’s exhilarating, It’s intensely powerful and skilful. And the cultural element within the stadium creates just another level of diversity that the 15s format doesn’t give you.”

The New SVNS Festival Formats

“It’s year one of this new way of doing things on the HSBC SVNS Series. That means World Rugby has taken a lot of learnings from this past season and it’ll be really interesting to see the data. 

But being in Hong Kong, again, just seeing the place absolutely bouncing, it was pretty special. I think it has taken the world a long time to overcome the aftereffects of COVID and the pandemic. In some regions, we’re still feeling it, so it really did feel like this was the first year where Hong Kong was back to pre-COVID levels and enjoying itself. 

I think there’s a lot of learning, it is a fine juggling act between understanding what that exponential fan opportunity is because you really need to get the fans to seeing the product, both for the men and the women, for it to continue to grow. 

So I think World Rugby is fortunately going to be able to have an opportunity at the end of Madrid to sort of assess what’s happened over the course of the last seven months and look at what has worked, and what hasn’t worked. 

Spain and Brazil enter the game on day three of the HSBC SVNS at National Stadium on 5 May, 2024 in Singapore. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

In Singapore, to see the environment that they’ve created in the suites and on the concourse, myself and Alicia did a scrum challenge together and reaction testing. There is plenty for the kids and it’s about understanding those touch points of experiential fan engagement experiences that work and trying not to take away from the onfield brilliance that you get to see.

I do think that it’s been great to see a different aspect of Sevens being able to create an experiential experience outside of the field and I think what’s really been cool to see is that the players have become really individually brilliant at engaging from a social media platform perspective. 

Bryan Habana explained, “There are deeper levels of engagement and HSBC brought in influencers into the environment in Singapore to touch different areas of the global community that aren’t focused on rugby and just to highlight how fun this festival actually is, which has been great.

But it’s been great to see a continual evolution of where the game of Sevens is going and there has been a vast array of opportunities that have been opened up to explore it even further. It’s an important product as it is so encompassing and inclusive, but also just so enjoyable and easy to understand which is brilliant – So long may it continue.”

Rugby Asia 247 Interviews – Singapore SVNS 2024

• B.A.C Rugby & Furious 5s Beach Festival 2024 – Wang Shao Ing
• Samantha Teo (Singapore Women’s 7s) – Rugby Opens Up Doors.
• Sidney Kumar On His Guiding Principles To Grow The Game In Singapore.
• Sam Pinder – SVNS Is A Fantastic Vehicle For Being Able To Grow The Sport Of Rugby.