Mike Greenaway
The Beleaguered Blitzboks need all the help they can get and they have welcomed Dewald Human back with open arms for this weekend’s Hong Kong Sevens.
The experienced playmaker is over his injury and ready to make a difference to the fortunes of his struggling teammates.
The popular Far East stop on the World Sevens Series will be special for the fleet-footed 28-year-old as he led the Blitzboks to Hong Kong in 2018 when a young team laden with talent surprised all by claiming third place.
With the bulk of the main squad concentrating on the Commonwealth Games that year, a team with a youthful look travelled to Hong Kong. Human was the captain in only his third tournament. The squad included Ryan Oosthuizen, Zain Davids and Selvyn Davids, who were still inexperienced in 2018, plus five uncapped players.
The Blitzboks lost narrowly to Fiji in the semi-finals before smashing New Zealand to claim bronze, a memory that will stay with Human forever.
“It’s a privilege to be back here in Hong Kong. The last time we got a medal here, it was with a special group of players, many of whom were from the academy squad, and no one gave us a chance,” said Human, who will play for the first time this year after picking up an injury in Cape Town in December.
“I’m excited to be back and to have an opportunity to showcase what I can do for the jersey and my country. There’s a lot of quality and competition so I must perform.
“My task will be to provide leadership on and off the field, an important role. This is a more senior group, and we expect improvement.”
Human described Hong Kong as “a special place” where all the teams would like to stand on the top of the podium, something that has eluded the South Africans since they first played in the Far East in the late 1990s.
“Everyone wants to win here, which makes it a very difficult tournament, and also, we realise we haven’t managed to win gold here,” said Human.
“We know we have disappointed a few times this season, but the squad is determined to do better, and you could see it in how they trained for this event.”
Sandile Ngcobo has stepped down as head coach and Human said Philip Snyman taking over as interim coach was not difficult.
“We’ve been working with coach Philip when he was an assistant and he was also in charge in Dubai when coach Sandile was not available, so we are all familiar with him and the adjustment has been good,” he said.
“Our main aim (for the remainder of the world series) is to finish amongst the top eight. We have two more tournaments left and we will give everything.
“It will be about the belief and our ability to perform, and if we do that, then the outcome will take care of itself.”