Sevens glory for SA Students

The star-studded South African Students Sevens team romped to glory in the Casablanca University Sevens tournament this past long weekend.

The Student Bokkies, captained by former Pukke skipper Willem van der Wal, went unbeaten in Morocco – winning four matches and scoring 157 points. Amazingly, they conceded just 17 points in the process.

The Men from South Africa beat teams from France, the Ivory Coast and England to walk off with the title – defeating both Cambridge and Oxford in the semifinals and final, respectively.

FNB UJ ace Earl Lewis was the big star, topping the points-scoring charts with 41 and also scoring five tries to end up as the joint try-scorer alongside FNB Maties winger Tythan Adams (pictured).

The SA squad, once again coached by former Tuks boss Freddie Grobler, was made up largely of 2010 Varsity Cup stars, but also included the likes of Justin McKay (UWC), Zika Katywa (Fort Hare) and skipper Van der Wal – all of whom did not play Varsity Cup rugby this past season.

This competitive tournament, an initiative from the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR), was endorsed and supported by the International Rugby Board (IRB) to develop the game in the rest of Africa.

Results and scorers:

SA STUDENTS 66 FRANCE 0 (Round robin)

Scorers:
Tries: De Klerk, Van der Wal 2, Poolman, Ulengo, Adams, Erasmus, Mackay 2, Lewis
Cons: Van der Wal 2, Adams 4, Lewis 2

SA STUDENTS 31 IVORY COAST 5 (Round robin)

Scorers:
Tries: Erasmus 2, Lewis, Adams, Ulengo
Cons: Erasmus, Davids, Lewis

SA STUDENTS 29 OXFORD 7 (Semifinal)

Scorers:
Tries: Adendorf, Adams, Lewis 2, Erasmus
Cons: Lewis 2

SA STUDENTS 31 CAMBRIDGE 5 (Final)

Scorers:
Tries: De Klerk, Peverett, Adams 2, Lewis
Cons: Lewis 3

The SA Students Sevens squad:

Players:
Willem van der Wal (UJ, captain)
Tythan Adams (Maties)
Jonathan Adendorf (Maties)
Shaun Davids (Tukkies)
Clinton de Klerk (UJ)
Jacobus Erasmus (UJ)
Earl Lewis (UJ)
Justin McKay (UWC)
Cameron Peverett (Maties)
Daniel Poolman (Maties)
Zika Katywa (Fort Hare)
Jamba Ulengo (Shimlas)

Management:
Coach: Freddie Grobler (Tukkies)
Physiotherapist: Rozanne Schreiber (Maties)
Manager: Bronson Weir (UWC)