| Intro | Rugby union player | ||
| Is |
Athlete |
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| From |
South Africa |
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| Type |
Sports |
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| Gender | male | ||
| Birth | 3 March 1988, Port Elizabeth | ||
| Age: | 32 years | ||
| Stats |
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Cecil Afrika (born 3 March 1988) is a South African rugby union player. He attended Hentie Cilliers High School in Virginia. He is currently part of the South African sevens team where he plays at Flyhalf.
He was a member of the South African Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Career
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 that reached the third place playoffs.
Afrika made his debut for the South African sevens team during the Dubai leg of the 2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series. During the Las Vegas leg of the 2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series 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 held in Delhi, 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; He scored 40 tries throughout the series with a total of 385 points. In 2011 he won the IRB International Sevens Player of the Year award.
In 2013, he was included in the squad for the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens.
2016 Summer Olympics
Afrika was included in a 12-man squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He was named in the starting line-up for their first match in Pool B of the competition against Spain and scored two tries and two conversions to help South Africa to a 24–0 victory. He started their second match against France, converting three of South Africa’s tries in a 26–0 victory, and dropped to the bench for their final match against Australia. Despite a 5–12 defeat in this match, South Africa still finished top of Pool B to set up a quarter final rematch against Australia. Afrika was restored to the starting lineup 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 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 to help South Africa secure a bronze medal in the competition.