Blitzboks Muller du Plessis and Impi Visser sign autographs at the Cape Town Sevens. Photo: SA Rugby.
Blitzboks wave goodbye to three more stalwarts
The Blitzboks have paid tribute to outgoing stars Muller du Plessis, JC Pretorius and Sako Makata, following the trio’s sevens exit.
Blitzboks Muller du Plessis and Impi Visser sign autographs at the Cape Town Sevens. Photo: SA Rugby.
The Blitzboks have paid tribute to outgoing stars Muller du Plessis, JC Pretorius and Sako Makata, following the trio’s sevens exit to join three fifteens franchises.
The Blitzboks have lost the services of Du Plessis, Pretorius and Makata after the 2022 Cape Town Sevens tournament.
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Du Plessis made his debut for the Blitzboks in 2018, playing in 22 World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments, 102 match appearances [in all competitions], accumulating 340 points and scoring 68 tries throughout his four and half year career in the abbreviated form of the game.
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The 23-year-old, who won two World Rugby Sevens Series titles and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, will join the Sharks, where he will link up with his former sevens mentor Neil Powell, who now heads up the Durban-based franchise.
Pretorius has signed for the Lions and leaves the Blitzboks as one of its best players from recent years. He was featured in 23 World Rugby Sevens Series events, scored 250 points from 50 tries, played 122 matches for South Africa. Like Du Plessis, Pretorius has won two Series titles and gold at the Commonwealth Games. He was also named in the prestigious World Rugby Sevens Series Dream Team of the Year 2021.
The final departee is Makata, who trades the Blitzboks to go play for Griquas. The 24-year-old represented the Springbok Sevens team in 17 World Series tournaments, accumulating 60 points from the 12 tries he scored. Makata is one-time World Sevens Series winner as well as a Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
