Johannesburg – Springbok Sevens captain Frankie Horne will become the first South African to play 50 tournaments in the Sevens World Series on Saturday.
The skipper will reach the landmark when he leads his team onto the field at the iconic Twickenham Stadium, the venue for the London Sevens, the ninth and final tournament of the 2012/13 series.
Horne made his debut in 2007 and went on to silence an unlikely critic in Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu, who paid tribute to the stalwart.
“When Frankie first came into Sevens I told him he won't make it and that he should go back to the 15-man code,” Treu said on Friday.
“As with every other player I told him it was up to him how he accepted this. But rather than giving up he embraced the challenge and it's fantastic to see how far he has come.”
Horne has won 10 tournaments with the Blitzbokke and was a member of the 2008/09 squad that won the Sevens World Series for the first time.
“The fact that he is the only player in the world to achieve this shows how remarkable the achievement is,” Treu said.
“It’s amazing for his career and it shows how he has put his body on the line.”
Treu said Horne had become a crucial cog of the SA Sevens machinery and developed into one of the greatest exponents of the game.
“He is a fighter and our go-to man and I have the utmost respect for him as a player and a person.
“Sevens has become his life. I really love Sevens and if I am the number one fan of the sport, he is certainly right behind me in second place.”
While Horne would celebrate the extraordinary feat, he said he would not allow his achievement to distract the team from the job at hand in London.
“It is certainly very humbling to be able to reach 50
tournaments and I would like to thank everyone who walked this road with me,” Horne said.
“One cannot be successful without the backing of your loved ones, teammates and team structures.
“This tournament is not about me though. We are in a unique position to win four tournaments in a series for the first time ever and that is where the focus is for the weekend.”
There will be no time for slip-ups in the English capital as only 12 teams play for the Cup, with South Africa in pool A alongside Australia, France and the United States.
The Blitzbokke suffered some injuries following their Glasgow victory, with Paul Delport and Steven Hunt unavailable due to a knee injury and an ankle ligament strain respectively.
The youthful duo of Justin Geduld and Seabelo Senatla also had to return to South Africa to re-join the Junior Springboks squad preparing for the IRB Junior World Championships starting in France later this month.
“We will need to find our feet early in the tournament if we want to be successful this weekend,” Treu said.
“It will not be easy as the players had a long and hard series, but they have shown their resilience and character already.”
South Africa are lying second in the World Series standings, 29 points behind New Zealand who hold an unassailable lead.
Blitzbokke squad: Frankie Horne (captain), Philip Snyman, Chris Dry, Jamba Ulengo, Stephan Dippenaar, Werner Kok, Cecil Afrika, Bernado Botha, WJ Strydom, Tshotsho Mbovane, Pieter Engelbrecht, Cornal Hendricks. – Sapa