Seabelo Senatla

Seabelo Senatla
Personal information
Full nameSeabelo Mohanoe Senatla
Born10 February 1993
Welkom, South Africa
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Weight76 kg (12 st 0 lb)[1]
School(s) attendedRiebeeckstad High School, Welkom
UniversityCentral University of Technology
Club information
Playing positionWinger
Current clubWestern Province / Stormers
Youth career
2009–11Griffons
2012–Free State Cheetahs
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeam
2012CUT Ixias3(0)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Pts)†
2014–Stormers2(0)
2014–Western Province6(15)
Representative team(s)‡
2013–S.A. Sevens()
2013S.A. Under-205(35)
* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 25 October 2014.

† Appearances (Points).

‡ Representative team caps and points correct as of 2 July 2014.
Seabelo Senatla
Medal record
Competitor for  South Africa
Men's Rugby sevens
World Games
Gold 2013 Cali Rugby sevens
Commonwealth Games
Gold 2014 Glasgow Team

Seabelo Mohanoe Senatla (born 10 February 1993 in Welkom, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing domestic rugby with the Western Province, Super Rugby with the Stormers and sevens rugby with the South African national sevens team.[1] His regular position is winger.

Career

Youth

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, he 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.[2] 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[3] and the Leopards U19[4] – 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

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.[5] He made his debut at the 2013 Wellington Sevens tournament and played in a total of 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, he extended his contract with SARU until December 2016.[6] 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.[7]

IRB Junior World Championship

Senatla was also selected in the South Africa Under-20 side that played in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France. He got off to a fantastic start, scoring four tries in their opening match, a 97–0 victory over the United States.[8] He got another two tries in their 31–24 victory over eventual champions England[9] and played in their match against hosts France.[10] He played in their semi-final clash with Wales, where South Africa suffered an 18–17 defeat.[11] 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 a third-place finish in the tournament.[12]

Western Province / Stormers

The contract that Senatla signed with SARU in December 2013 also allowed him to play for Western Province in the Currie Cup competition.[6] 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.[13]

External links

"Seabelo Senatla – A Dream on a Wall". Rugby365. Retrieved 31 October 2014.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "SARU Player Profile Seabelo Senatla". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Match Breakdown: CUT vs Wits". South African Rugby Union. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Toyota Free State Cheetahs vs SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Leopards vs Toyota Free State Cheetahs". South African Rugby Union. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Blitzbokke make three changes". Sport24. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Senatla, Afrika sign for Bok Sevens until 2016" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "IRB Sevens Statistics : 2013–14 Season Player Tries". IRB Sevens. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs USA". South African Rugby Union. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs England". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Match Breakdown: France vs South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs Wales". South African Rugby Union. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Burger back on deck; Senatla on debut for DHL Stormers" (Press release). Stormers. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.