Wikipedia

Seabelo Senatla

Seabelo Mohanoe Senatla (born at 10 February 1993) is a South African rugby union player for the South African Sevens Side. He also plays for Stormers in URC and Western Province in the Currie Cup.[1] His regular position is winger.

Seabelo Senatla
Full nameSeabelo Mohanoe Senatla
Date of birth (1993-02-10) 10 February 1993 (age 31)
Place of birthWelkom, South Africa
Height1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[1]
Weight88 kg (194 lb; 13 st 12 lb)[1]
SchoolRiebeeckstad High School, Welkom
UniversityCentral University of Technology
Rugby union career
Position(s) Winger
Current team Stormers / Western Province
Youth career
2009–2011 Griffons
2012 Free State Cheetahs
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2012 CUT Ixias 3 (0)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–present Stormers 51 (85)
2014–present Western Province 45 (125)
Correct as of 23 July 2022
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013–2018 South Africa Sevens 203 (1,120)
2013 South Africa Under-20 5 (35)
2017 South Africa 'A' 1 (0)
Correct as of 15 November 2018
Medal record
Men's rugby sevens
Representing  South Africa
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team competition
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Team competition
World Games
Gold medal – first place 2013 Cali Team competition

Senatla was a member of the South Africa Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[note 1]

Career

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Youth

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Senatla was born in Welkom, South Africa. Playing schoolboy rugby for Riebeeckstad High School in Welkom, Senatla earned selection in the Griffons side that played at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week tournament in 2009, as well as the Under-18 Academy Week tournament in 2010. He was also a member of the Griffons U19 side that played in the 2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring four tries in eight starts.

In 2012, Senatla moved to Bloemfontein, where he played for university side CUT Ixias during the 2012 Varsity Shield competition. He helped them finish top of the log and played in the final, where they lost 19–17 to Wits.[3] His impressive try-scoring form for the Free State U19 side during the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship – scoring seven tries in eight starts, which included two hat-tricks against SWD U19[4] and the Leopards U19[5] – saw him make the step up to the Free State U21 side, scoring one try in five appearances during the 2012 Under-21 Provincial Championship.

Rugby sevens

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Senatla also caught the attention of the Blitzbokke and he signed a two-year contract with SARU to play for them on the IRB Sevens World Series circuit for in 2013 and 2014.[6] He debuted at the 2013 Wellington Sevens tournament and played in five tournaments during the 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series. He also represented them at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens as they were knocked out in the quarter-finals, before being part of the squad that won gold at the 2013 World Games in Cali.

In December 2013, Senatla extended his contract with SARU until December 2016.[7] He featured in a further five tournaments during the 2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series and topped the try-scoring charts for the Blitzbokke, scoring 29 tries during the season.[8]

Junior World Championship

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Senatla was selected in the South Africa Under-20 side that played in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France. He scored four tries in their opening match, a 97–0 victory over the United States.[9] He got another two tries in their 31–24 victory over eventual champions England,[10] and played in their match against hosts France.[11] He played in their semi-final clash with Wales, where South Africa suffered an 18–17 defeat.[12] He was also in the run-on side that met New Zealand in the third-placed play-off and scored one of six South African tries as they beat New Zealand 41–34 to secure third-place.[13]

Western Province / Stormers

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The contract that Senatla signed with SARU in December 2013 also allowed him to play for Western Province in the Currie Cup competition.[7] In July 2014, he was selected on the bench for the 2014 Super Rugby match between the Stormers (the Super Rugby franchise aligned with Western Province) for their second-last match of the season against the Bulls in Cape Town.[14] Senatla played in and won the 2014 Currie Cup final.

2016 Summer Olympics

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Senatla was included in a 12-man squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[15] He was named in the starting line-up for their first match in Group B of the competition against Spain, scoring a try as South Africa won the match 24–0.[16][17]

Notes

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  1. ^ Despite being a member of the South African Sevens team at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Senatla missed the bronze medal game due to injury and did not receive a medal. His replacement Francois Hougaard was awarded the medal instead, but announced via his Twitter account that he gave his medal to Senatla.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "SA Rugby Player Profile – Seabelo Senatla". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  2. ^ @Francoishougi (12 August 2016). "@Sport24news I gave Sea my medal before I left as I believe he deserves it more. The medal is really special to me but he deserves it" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 August 2016 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – CUT 17–19 Wits". South African Rugby Union. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  4. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Toyota Free State Cheetahs 99–3 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  5. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 15–29 Toyota Free State Cheetahs". South African Rugby Union. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Blitzbokke make three changes". Sport24. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Senatla, Afrika sign for Bok Sevens until 2016" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  8. ^ "IRB Sevens Statistics : 2013–14 Season Player Tries". IRB Sevens. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 97–0 USA". South African Rugby Union. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  10. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 31–24 England". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  11. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – France 19–26 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17–18 Wales". South African Rugby Union. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  13. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 41–34 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Burger back on deck; Senatla on debut for DHL Stormers" (Press release). Stormers. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Rugby Sevens squad for Olympics named". South African Rugby Union. 14 July 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  16. ^ "Men Schedule & Results – Olympic Rugby Sevens (RSA–ESP)". Rio 2016. 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  17. ^ "Olympic Games Men's Sevens, Match 2". World Rugby. 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
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