SA Under-18 clinch Sevens gold at Commonwealth Youth Games
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The future of South African Sevens shone brightly during a brilliant display by the SA Under-18 Sevens team in Samoa last week, as they captured the Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Apia, Samoa.
South Africa finished the Sevens programme unbeaten and bagged gold after beating a strong Australian side in the final. The 12-man squad, coached by former Springbok Sevens stars Paul Delport and Marius Schoeman (manager) and), only had two days to prepare before flying out to Samoa.
The team scored the most points in the two-day Sevens rugby competition and only conceded six tries in total – four of those were scored by Australia in a pulsating final match, which the South Africans won 31-20.
They finished the Games without losing a match after accounting for Singapore (61-0), Namibia (46-0), England and hosts, Samoa (29-0, semi-finals).
The young South Africans were superbly led by Heino Bezuidenhout of Eastern Province and Daniel Pienaar High School, who described the experience as unbelievable. “I represented my province at the Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week and also played for the SA Schools team, but this winning feeling is unbelievable,” said Bezuidenhout.
He added: “To travel so far and then to beat some really quality teams, especially England, Samoa and Australia is truly special. I am going to remember this for years to come.”
According to Schoeman, the outstanding display of all the players during the tournament made team selection very difficult. “They were so well-disciplined, bursting with eagerness to play and all in good form that it made selection a real nightmare.
“We assembled just two days prior to flying out from Johannesburg to Samoa, which was a gruelling three day trip via Australia and New Zealand to the Pacific Islands. However, the boys took the experience in their stride and they embraced the challenge,” explains Schoeman.
He did, however, had special praise for Francois Agenbach, who earlier this year was playing third team rugby for Grey College. The player made such giant strides that he was eventually selected to play for the Toyota Free State province at this year’s Under-18 Cola-Cola Craven Week in Stellenbosch.
“Francois is a big boy and we spotted him last year already at the SARU Under-17 Interprovincial Sevens. He weighs 95 kilograms and plays outside centre in fifteens, but we used him as a tighthead prop. He is just one of many good examples of the fantastic talent we have at age group level.
“His team mates such as Manie Libbok (SWD, Outeniqua High School), Stedman Gans (Blue Bulls, Waterkloof), Heino Bezuidenhout (Eastern Province, Daniel Pienaar HS), Hacjivah Dayimane (Golden Lions, Jeppe HS) and Curwin Bosch (Eastern Province, Grey HS) are all exciting rugby talents. We have already included some of them in our plans for the Sevens Academy, and if they can keep up their good progress then the future looks bright indeed,” reckons Schoeman.
Two squad members, JC Pretorius (Pumas, Middelburg HTS) and Damian Willemse (Western Province, Paul Roos) are eligible to play for the Under-18’s again next year.
The managerial duo of Schoeman and Delport are also in charge of the very successful SARU Sevens Academy side. Since its inception a few years ago, the SARU Sevens Academy has proved to be an outstanding breeding ground for young talent, producing Springbok Sevens stars such as Seabelo Senatla, Cheslin Kolbe, Warrick Gelant, Justin Geduld, Werner Kok and Ruhan Nel.
Schoeman praised the excellent form of the players during a demanding tournament in Samoa, and said they also made a very big contribution to the overall team spirit and success of Team SA.
“The boys conducted themselves very well and they were very popular members of the Team SA contingent. They made a lot of friends and the Games were certainly the highlight so far of their young sporting careers.”
South Africa were beaten finalists at the 2011 Games, but a powerful display in all five matches secured them the coveted Gold Medal this time round. That success in Samoa also means South Africa are the gold medal winners in both the youth and senior categories of Sevens at the Commonwealth Games. The Springbok Sevens were crowned champions last year in Glasgow.
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