Davids the latest Blitzbok to shine for Stormers

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Speedster Angelo Davids is the latest sevens star to make an impact for the DHL Stormers, following the likes of Seabelo Senatla and Ruhan Nel.

Davids has made the transition from the sevens stage to the Stormers set-up and is poised to show what he can do against London Irish in the Heineken Champions Cup clash at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

The speed merchant had been a regular in the national sevens squad ever since his Blitzbok debut in 2019, and scored 10 tries – including three hat-tricks – at the Commonwealth Games in July, playing an integral role in the Blitzboks’ gold medal victory.

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This also came after a sensational 2022 Currie Cup campaign for Western Province, where Davids scored eight tries in nine games for the union he grew up supporting.

Sevens commitments and the form of the two top try-scorers in the competition in Senatla and Leolin Zas limited Davids’ involvement in the Stormers’ 2021-22 title-winning campaign to just three appearances.

However, in the new season, Davids has taken the opportunity to start six matches on the wing in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship with some solid performances that included a crucial try in an impressive come-from-behind win over the Lions in Round 7.

He said that his teammates have helped make the transition an easy one.

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“Adjusting to the DHL Stormers or the game of fifteens hasn’t been difficult for me because I’ve always been with fifteens as well, and the guys also helped me a lot,” Davids said.

Davids added that the team has embraced the challenge of playing in both the URC and the Champions Cup this season.

“Being part of the two competitions is really cool because you are competing against the best of the best. It’s also good so that I can challenge myself against guys that’ve been in the game for long.

“What I’ve noticed is that even the European teams want to beat the Stormers and for me, personally, it is exciting because teams know what we are capable of doing.

“I’m always ready to go, it doesn’t matter when and where I’m ready because this is something I love doing.”

It was in high school where the rugby bug bit Davids, and he went on to represent WP at U16 and U18 levels. After impressing at an U18 Sevens festival, he was drafted into the national sevens academy in Stellenbosch.

Davids, who represented the Junior Springboks at the 2019 U20 World Championship, is now focused on delivering for the Stormers, starting in their Champions Cup home debut in the Mother City against the Exiles on Saturday.

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Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images

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Devin Hermanus