Cecil Afrika brought Branco du Preez’s winning run to a halt as he dismissed his opponent by a significant margin, signalling the arrival of the final challenger in this series to decide SA’s greatest Blitzbok.

Du Preez stepped his way around Mzwandile Stick in the first round before eliminating Fabian Juries in round two, but Afrika comprehensively won 91% of the vote in the penultimate round to book his spot in the final.

Earlier this year, Seabelo Senatla called it quits on his sevens career to hone his focus on the 15s game, finishing as the Blitzboks’ most prolific try-scorer with 230 five-pointers to his name.

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Senatla has 51 career tries more than his opponent, who sits on 179, and he has also made 132 appearances less than Afrika’s 345 caps, meaning his 213 caps equate to averaging a try every time he played, where Cecil averaged one every two games.

However, Afrika has the most career points to his name of any Blitzbok, 312 more than Senatla, who has bagged 1,150 points across his career.

There is no real competition when it comes to conversions, as Afrika’s 282 kicks are only surpassed by those of Du Preez, with Senatla not making it into the top 30, but such is the nature of kicking roles in sevens rugby.

Afrika has made 33 career tackles more than Senatla’s 308, but when taking into account the difference in appearances, Afrika’s 341 tackles present a less proficient average on defence.

When it comes to clean breaks, Senatla is the undisputed king with 214 to his name, surpassing Afrika’s tally of 100 clean breaks by 114.

The Challenger:

Photo: Twitter/@Springboks