He prefers warm weather and the sun, but for Springbok Sevens playmaker Dewald Human, a return to Vancouver is something he is looking forward to as much as he is to be playing with his regular team members in a competitive HSBC SVNS Series.
The 30-year-old will leave Cape Town with the Blitzboks later on Sunday for the first time in 11 months and he admits that he is as excited as he was for his very first trip way back in 2017.
“It is great to be back for a number of reasons – I have not played since Singapore last year and I am finally injury free and ready to go,” Human said.
“What I am looking forward to this time is the fact that the other playmakers in the squad, like Ronald (Brown), Selvyn (Davids) and Tristan (Leyds), are also there and I think we can create a lot of opportunities for the rest of the squad. That is certainly something I cannot wait to do.”
Human, who has played in 31 HSBC SVNS tournaments, scoring 320 points though 30 tries and 85 conversions, mostly featured in Europe, Asia and Australasia, with only three visits to Canada and one to the USA, so this trip is a bit of a novelty for the experienced campaigner.
“I’m not sure why, it is just one of those things, I suppose, especially only playing once in the USA, in Los Angeles,” he said. “So, I will have to make the best of our first tournament in New York, I think.”
But first things first and Human is eager to get off the plane in Canada: “I recall BC Place well. In fact, when the team was announced, I got a text from Shaun Williams to remind me of his very first try he scored there. I made an inside pass to Shaun and he scored his first try on debut.
“Yes, it is cold outside, but what I like about the stadium is the fact that the surface is true and fast. That does not only help you when you kick, but also the steppers, who have a solid footing and can go wild.
“Even the kick-offs will be different, as because of the true and consistent bounce of the ball off the pitch, we will get much more airtime with the drop kicks and that will bring contesting every ball into the mix.
“The same applies for us as playmakers, because the bounce is true, you can pinpoint your kicking and the outside backs love it because it is so fast. The pitch burns are not great, but that is a small price to pay,” he added with a huge smile.
Human said he would also like to contribute to a possible world series crown.
“Winning the series is one of our objectives and if we do well in Vancouver and New York, we will come very close to that aim,” he said.
“So, a good start in Canada will be important. We had a good week of training in Stellenbosch and just need to add some touches before the tournament start in Canada.”
They have analysed the matches during the year where they did not deliver and according to Human, they were their own worst enemies: “Coach Renfred (Dazel) reminded us again during our attack session on Monday that we tend to play against ourselves at times. We have an experienced group flying out today, so I am confident we will deliver.”
Gro
The oldest cricketer to play the game is England’s Wilfred Rhodes while the oldest living Test cricketer is South Africa’s John Watkins. Rhodes was 52 years old while Watkins (born 1923) is in his late 90s. Rhodes also holds a distinction in first class cricket, taking down over 4,000 wickets.
Golden Cougar
Sport Trivia: At the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona, Ghana took a bronze medal in which team event? Answer: Soccer. Ghana topped their group (D) during the preliminary rounds, when they beat Australia 3-1, and drew 0-0 with Denmark and 1-1 with Mexico. They then beat Australia again 1-0 in the playoff to win the bronze medal.