Blitzboks coach Neil Powell has joked that he wants to keep Angelo Davids in the Sevens format after the Stormers man scored 10 tries to help Team South Africa to gold in the Commonwealth Games.
South Africa smashed Fiji 31-7 in the Sevens final in Birmingham on Sunday night to win gold, after getting the better of Tonga (36-5), Malaysia (46-0) and Scotland (34-0) in Pool B before beating Canada (33-0) in the quarters and Australia (24-12) in the semifinal.
And while he couldn’t score in the final to eclipse the Games record of 11 touchdowns set by fellow Stormer Seabelo Senatla, Davids was the talk of the town after bagging hat-tricks in three games – against Malaysia, Scotland and Australia.
Of his performances, Powell says: “I think we must bring Angelo permanently back to sevens again.
“Firstly, he’s amazing human being and a great rugby player as well. He always gives 100 percent effort and he’s really quick, and we know if we kick the ball in behind our opposition, he’s going to chase it to the best of his ability.
“He has really had an amazing tournament, just like the other 12 players as well; everybody played their part and I’m happy for each and every one of them.”
🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 A proud and relieved Neil Powell has heaped praise on the Blitzbok players for their Birmingham brilliance this weekend - more here: https://t.co/sLuQ5lX7Bp@TeamSA2024 #BestOfUs pic.twitter.com/dEGb7N2f2Q
— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) August 1, 2022
The gold rush didn’t stop there for Team SA on Sunday, with Tatjana Schoenmaker winning gold in the 200m breaststroke for women, with teammate Kaylene Corbett bagging bronze.
SA’s golden boy in the pool Chad le Close added to the medals tally by winning silver in the men’s 200m butterfly event.
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za