Blitzbok speedster Seabelo Senatla is considered one of the most lethal finishers on the Sevens World Series circuit … but he is not the quickest.
The dreadlocked 22-year-old admitted as much when addressing media at the scenic Waterfront after a signing session with fans during the week.
Asked by Sport24 to respond to a comment by USA captain Madison Hughes, who said that no side on the circuit had quicker players than American fliers Perry Baker and Carlin Isles, Senatla agreed.
“They are quite phenomenal. They are very fast,” he said.
“Those types of players, if you let them take the outside gap they are going to punish you … they were athletes before. I don’t argue with that … they are quicker than me.”
Perry Baker scored an simple try bursting down the right touchline early in the quarterfinal against the South Africans in Dubai last weekend, and Carlin Isles used his pace equally impressively later in the same fixture as the USA clinched a shock win.
But that did not stop Senatla from scoring seven tries of his own, leading him to say: “That’s not my goal as such. I regard myself as a team player and I like to do whatever the team needs me to do”.
“Getting a try is a bonus.”
The focus on Rio has certainly woken the sleeping giant that is the USA, so much so that they beat the All Blacks twice in Dubai, and were responsible for knocking the Blitzboks out the of the Cup.
So will this weekend in Cape Town be about revenge should the sides meet again?
“I think a little bit,” said Senatla.
“But we focus more on us … it doesn’t really matter who we play.”
Senatla boasts a personal best of 10.4 seconds in the 100 metre dash and competed at the SA junior track and field championships in his youth, so is no slouch. But with a best of 10.13 seconds for the hundred, Carlin Isles has some proper gas. Take in this video showcasing the man’s jet shoes if you do not believe us …
The Blitzboks are grouped alongside Kenya, Zimbabwe and England this weekend. CLICK HERE for “All you need to know about the Cape Town Sevens”
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