Angelo Davids is eager to make his first sevens run-out at Cape Town Stadium in this weekend’s World Cup, having never played the shortened version of the game in front of his home supporters before.
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Davids was born in Cape Town and attended Stellenberg High in Bellville, but has never represented the Blitzboks in his home town, as the annual Cape Town Sevens has been halted since the pandemic.
This weekend, the 23-year-old gets to change that as he was included in the squad that will play in the Sevens World Cup at Cape Town Stadium.
“It has been a dream of mine to play not only international sevens, but at the Cape Town Sevens, because I have never done it before,” said Davids. “It’s huge and an honour to represent South Africa in Cape Town, where your family, friends and loved ones can come and support you. So, I am really excited for this one.
“The supporters will be fired up for this week. It’s the World Cup and they haven’t seen us play in a while on our home ground. So I think they are going to be really, really excited to see us.”
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A surprise name in the 14-man squad, which will be cut down to a final squad of 12 on Wednesday, was that of Cecil Afrika, as the veteran earned a recall for the first time since 2020.
“You know Cecil Afrika, he has always been such a lovely guy,” said Davids. “He is always laughing and making jokes.
“It’s actually nice to have a guy like that back in the team. He is also bringing his own on-field specialties, so it’s really exciting to have him back.”
The Blitzboks will have extra motivation going into this weekend as the World Cup will be coach Neil Powell’s last tournament with the team before he takes up his role as Sharks director of rugby.
“It’s difficult, but we have to focus on what we have to do this weekend,” said Davids. “Coach Neil has played a huge role in my life. This is his last tournament, so we want to make it a big one.”
REWIND: Ankle-breaker Afrika carves up Wallabies
Photo: Twitter: @Blitzboks
