RWC 2015: Bryan Habana equals Jonah Lomu's 16-year Rugby World Cup try-scoring record with hat-trick

Habana's three second-half tries against the United States saw him tie the New Zealand great on 15 tries in the Rugby World Cup

Bryan Habana dives over the line to score a try for South Africa (Getty Images)

South Africa breezed to a huge 64-0 victory over the United States to wrap up their Rugby World Cup Pool B campaign in style, but the day proved to be a memorable one for their legendary wing Bryan Habana as he equalled Jonah Lomu’s World Cup try-scoring record of 15.

The 32-year-old, who is almost certainly playing in his third and final World Cup, took a nasty blow to the head early one when he and USA full-back Blaine Scully collided in mid-air when competing for a high ball.

But after leaving the pitch temporarily for a head injury assessment, Habana returned to devastating effect. It took the flying wing less than a minute of the second half to chase a chips through the defence from Fourie du Preez and beat the covering defence to touch down in the corner.

The TMO checked to see if he was offside, and when it couldn’t be decided if he was in front or behind Du Preez, the advantage went with the attacking team and the score stood.

If there were doubts over the first score, there were none for his second. In the 59th minute, impressive centre Damian de Allende broke the defensive line with a neat angle off a lineout and when he committed full-back Scully, he offloaded to Habana on his left shoulder to go in unopposed.

His third try came less than three minutes later, and came from quick thinking on the wing’s part. The ball came lose in a ruck near the Americans’ line after a good turnover, but Habana saw his opportunity and gathered the ball before diving over in the corner to score his 64th try of his career and level Lomu’s incredible record that has stood since the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

Habana will have at least one more chance to break Lomu’s record though, as the Springboks will face the loser of Saturday’s Pool A clash at Twickenham when Wales take on Australia in a bid to top the pool that has claimed the first big victim in the form of England.