Cecil Sebastian Afrika (born 3 March 1988) is a South African

rugby sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

player for the South Africa national team, where he plays at

flyhalf In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

. He also plays for the San Diego Legion of

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR) is a professional rugby union competition in the United States. The league comprises 11 teams. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned ...

(MLR). Afrika was a member of the South African Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Early life

Afrika attended Hentie Cilliers High School in Virginia. Afrika represented the South African Schoolboys in 2006. He was part of the South African under-20 squad in the

2008 IRB Junior World Championship The 2008 IRB Junior World Championship was the first annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. All players who were twenty years of age or under on 1 January 2008 were eligible for selection. This competition repl ...

that reached the third place playoffs.

National Sevens Team Summary

Afrika debuted for the South African sevens team during the Dubai leg of the

2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series The 2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series was the eleventh of an annual series of rugby union sevens tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000. Samoa won the IRB Sevens World Series crown for their fir ...

. During the Las Vegas leg of the

he was carried off the field on a stretcher after he was injured during the Plate Final match against Fiji, South Africa won 12–7. He was part of the sevens team that took Bronze at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

held in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, India in October. Afrika missed out on the 2011 Wellington Sevens because of a broken jaw he suffered during the South African leg of the IRB Sevens Series. He was the top try and point-scorer for the

2010–11 IRB Sevens World Series The 2010–11 IRB Sevens World Series was the 12th annual IRB Sevens World Series of rugby union sevens tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000. Sevens is traditionally played in a two-day tourna ...

; He scored 40 tries throughout the series with a total of 385 points. In 2011 he won th
IRB International Sevens Player of the Year award
pipping the great Tomasi Cama of New Zealand (NZ) who managed 299 points for the same year. In 2013, Afrika was included in the squad for the

2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens The 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the sixth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The tournament was held at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. New Zealand won the tournament, defeating England 33–0 in the final. Attendance for the tourname ...

2010 Commonwealth Games - Delhi

Afrika was instrumental in the team that represented South Africa Seven in Delhi. Helping the team to a third place finish overall. These are the games that highlighted the prowess of Africa on the main stage of rugby Sevens. From hereon, he was to join the main team for the world series.

2014 Commonwealth Games - Glasgow

Cecil was named in this most illustrious team to represent South Africa in their campaign to unseat New Zealand who had never lost a game at all Commonwealth Games since the inception of Sevens at the games in 1998. Rugby sevens at the 2014 Commonwealth Games was one of South Africa Sevens best tournaments where they ended up as champions winning GOLD.

2016 Summer Olympics

Afrika was included in a 12-man squad for the

in Rio de Janeiro. He was named in the starting line-up for their first match in Pool B of the competition against

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and scored two tries and two conversions to help South Africa to a 24–0 victory. He started their second match against

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, converting three of South Africa's tries in a 26–0 victory, and dropped to the bench for their final match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Despite a 5–12 defeat in this match, South Africa still finished top of

Pool B Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

to set up a quarter final rematch against Australia. Afrika was restored to the starting line-up for this match and converted one of South Africa's tries in a 22–5 victory. He started South Africa's semi-final match against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

but could not prevent them losing 5–7 to be eliminated from gold medal contention. He also started their third-place play-off, scoring two tries and kicking five conversions in his side's 54–14 victory over

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

to help South Africa secure a bronze medal in the competition.

Honours

* Springboks Blitzbok colours from 2009 with 345 match appearances for South Africa * Leading Record Points for South Africa as at 2023/10/10 with 1465 points * 2010/2011 IRB International Sevens Player of the Year * 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi - Bronze Medal winner * 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow - Gold Medal winner * 2016 Rio Olympics Summer Games - Bronze Medal winner

Retirement

Afrika retired from international sevens as South Africa's all time leading World Series scorer in June 2020. Following on his long Sevens career and on his success in the 2011 HSBC Sevens World Series, he was in 2021 unveiled as the new International Rugby Board ‘Keep Rugby Clean’ Ambassador for sevens.

Club Rugby

Afrika came through at the South African Currie Cup side Griffons before transitioning into the South African 7s setup. In 2017 he has a brief stint with the Cheetahs in their first season in the Pro14. In 2021 Afrika signed for American side San Diego Legion for the 2021 season as a fullback.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Afrika, Cecil 1988 births Living people Rugby union players from Gqeberha South African rugby union players Rugby sevens players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Rugby sevens players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby sevens players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for South Africa World Rugby Awards winners South Africa international rugby sevens players South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic rugby sevens players for South Africa Olympic bronze medalists for South Africa Olympic medalists in rugby sevens Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists in rugby sevens Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in rugby sevens Griffons (rugby union) players Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players for South Africa Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks Free State Cheetahs players Cheetahs (rugby union) players San Diego Legion players Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games South African expatriate rugby union players in the United States World Games bronze medalists for South Africa World Games medalists in rugby sevens Medalists at the 2009 World Games 21st-century South African sportsmen