Bryan Habana cleared to join Springbok Sevens in North America

Bryan Habana will link up with South Africa for the North American leg of the World Sevens Series after his club side, Toulon, agreed to his release.

The 2007 Rugby World Cup winner will link up with Neil Powell's squad in Stellenbosch on Tuesday and will be available for selection for the tournaments in Las Vegas and Vancouver next month, SA Rugby confirmed on Monday.

Habana, South Africa's leading Test try-scorer and most capped wing, has made just two Springbok Sevens appearance to date, in Wellington and Los Angeles in 2004.

"Bryan is an unbelievable rugby player and his outstanding playing record and achievements in the Springbok jersey speaks for itself," Springbok Sevens coach Powell said. "I am really excited by the prospects of him joining our training squad."

South Africa go into the event in Las Vegas -- which takes place between Mar. 4-6 -- level on points with Fiji and New Zealand at the top of the World Series standings.

And, Powell is hopeful that Habana will provide a boost to an experienced squad that could also be aided by the return ofKyle Brown, Branco du Preez, Cecil Africa and Justin Geduld from injury.

Powell added: "Bryan is one of those players that always has a lot of energy. Apart from that, he brings with him a lot of experience of playing rugby at the very top level, so in that sense his presence in the squad will also be a great motivational factor for our guys.

"I can tell you Bryan is very eager to learn. He realises that it's been a very long time since he last played Sevens, but he is excited by this challenge and really looking forward to be part of our system."