When Habana scored a try against Italy on 21 November 2009, it meant that he had scored a try against each of the "Tier 1" nations. The following year Habana scored another two tries against Italy in separate matches, the second of which brought Habana's total to 38, equalling the South African record set by Joost van der Westhuizen. Habana remained level with van der Westhuizen, failing to score for almost fifteen months, before ending his drought at the 2011 World Cup against Namibia. Habana became the second South African to win the IRPA Try of the Year for his try against New Zealand in 2012. Running between two defending players and chipping the ball over a third, Habana slid in to score in the South African's 21–11 defeat in the 2012 Rugby Championship.