Durban — The Blitzboks have called up James Murphy to replace injured teammate Selvyn Davids for this weekend’s Sydney Sevens, the fifth tournament in the World Rugby Sevens Series.
The South Africans are desperate to bounce back after a disappointing showing last week in New Zealand where they had a good first day only to flop in the playoffs.
Davids suffered a groin injury in Hamilton and was ruled out of this week’s tournament, where SA will face Kenya on Friday and Uruguay and New Zealand on Saturday in Pool B.
Murphy is no stranger to the Blitzboks and made his 12th tournament appearance in Cape Town in December, where he played the last of his 52 games in a Springbok Sevens jersey.
He has not played in Australia before though and is delighted to jump on the plane to Sydney, despite having just started a safari with his family.
“I was the 14th player for the trip and when the rest of the training squad was given some days off, I could join the family in the Kruger National Park,” Murphy said from Sydney.
“But I did pack a bag with my rugby stuff just in case I got the call, and that is exactly what happened.
“I started Sunday morning with a sunrise game drive and when I had reception again, I saw the message from coach Philip (Snyman) asking me to join them. It is never nice to replace an injured teammate, so I feel for Selvyn, but I am ready to go and answer the call of duty.”
IOL Sport