- Blitzboks legend Cecil Afrika to visit Kenya during the Africa Women’s 7s tournament.
- He will be the head coach of South Africa Women 7s during the event.
- He is the 2011 World Rugby Player of the Year award and South Africa’s all-time leading points scorer.
South Africa’s outstanding playmaker and sweeper Cecil Afrika will visit Kenya when the Africa Women’s 7s tournament takes place at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi from 15-16 November.
Afrika, who lit up the 7s stage during his playing days, will be tasked with leading the Springbok Women 7s in the 12-team continental tournament whose winner will book a ticket to the newly introduced HSBC SVNS Division 3.
“Cecil Afrika, who has been part of the coaching set-up since 2023, will travel with the team as coach in place of Renfred Dazel, who is assisting BlitzBok head coach Philip Snyman in the 2025/26 HSBC SVNS preparations,” South Africa confirmed.
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Afrika retired from international sevens as South Africa’s all-time leading World Series points scorer in June 2020 with a total tally of 1462.
He is famously remembered for being crowned the 2011 World Rugby Player of the Year award, pipping the great Tomasi Cama of New Zealand.
In that 2010/11 season, Afrika finished as the top try and point-scorer in the HSBC Sevens World Series. He managed 40 tries despite missing a whole tournament, finishing ahead of New Zealand’s Frank Halai (35) and England’s Dan Norton (32).
Thanks to his clinical conversion kicking, Afrika also finished as the season’s top point scorer with 385.
Cecil Afrika to visit Kenya
Afrika, who made his debut in Dubai in 2009, played in his final and 66th tournament for his country in Vancouver in 2020.
He was part of two World Series-winning Blitzbok squads (2017 and 2018), as well as the South African team that won Commonwealth Games gold (2014) and Olympic bronze (2016) medals.
In Rio, Afrika started the third-place play-off, scoring two tries and kicking five conversions in South Africa’s 54–14 victory over Japan to help South Africa secure a bronze medal in the competition
This will not be his first time in Kenya as he has previously visited the country during his playing days when the Blitzboks competed in the 2019 Safari 7s. Kenya beat them 19-14 in the championship final.
Cecil Afrika honours
Springboks Blitzbok colours from 2009 with 345 match appearances for South Africa
Leading Record Points for South Africa with 1465 points
2010/2011 IRB International Sevens Player of the Year
2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi – Bronze Medal winner
2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow – Gold Medal winner
2016 Rio Olympics Summer Games – Bronze Medal winner
Africa Women’s 7 tournament
South Africa will face Zambia, Ghana and Egypt in Pool A of the tournament, where a top-two finish will be needed to continue their quest to the 2026 World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series.
Kenya, Tunisia, Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso contest Pool B and Uganda, Madagascar, Mauritius and Cote d’Ivoire will play in Pool C.
BlitzBoks Women’s training squad
Forwards: Shiniqwa Lamprecht, Leigh Fortuin, Liske Lategan, Zintle Mpupha, Asisipho Plaatjies, Faith Tshauke, Lerato Makua, Thandi Fudu.
Backs: Nadine Roos, Vianca Boer, Simamkele Namba, Maria Tshiremba, Patience Mokone, Ayanda Malinga, Byrhandrè Dolf, Shannon Windvogel, Alicia Willemse, Jane Mulder.