Two Maties used the recent Varsity Sevens to book their place at the George 7’s Premier League and continue an impressive streak of form.
JW Durr and Josh Bassingthwaighte represented the WP team at the showpiece event held at Outeniqua Park on January 11-12.
The event was originally scheduled for early December but was postponed due to the passing of former president Nelson Mandela.
The WP team had a mixed tournament and bowed out in the semifinal of the Plate division, going down narrowly 19-12 to the Sharks.
Stefan de Villiers, a Matieland legend due to his exploits on the Sevens circuit, also played for Province.
De Villiers is no longer eligible to represent the Maties after finishing his studies, but he graduates with a glittering career which includes representing the SA Students at the World Student Games in Russia, WP at the Club World Cup held at Twickenham and also Maties and Victorians in fifteens.
Throw in winning the Centrale Sevens in Paris with Maties and De Villiers is surely on his way to representing Blitzbokke in the future.
He is well known to supporters of the Varsity Sevens as he was part of the squad that swept all before them at the end of 2012, winning the competition in Plettenberg Bay and being finalists in Margate.
Combining this with the victory at 2012 USSA 7’s in George means De Villiers has won every trophy available for a student Sevens player.
Bassingthwaighte, who is the Cinderella story of Maties Sevens, has been on a hot streak of note since being part of the victorious Varsity Sevens in 2012.
Named player of the tournament at USSA Sevens he was then invited, alongside De Villiers, to train with the Blitzbokke.
In 2013 he travelled to Russia, Twickenham and Paris in a whirlwind year which saw him represent South Africa, Western Province and Maties.
The immense experience he gathered during these various tournaments was evident when he was named Steers Most Valuable Player in Camps Bay.
He is no stranger to the George 7’s Premier League as he and De Villiers both were invited to represent the Might Mohicans at the inaugural tournament in 2012.
Bassingthwaighte was spotted by the well-known Ian Campbell-McGeachy playing in the Koshuis second league at Maties.
Campbell-McGeachy, who has the nickname of Miyagi, is one of the brightest stars in the coaching world of Sevens. Much like Mister Miyagi does in Karate Kid, Campbell-McGeachy develops players to reach their potential and become champions.
To finish off what had been an impressive year Bassingthwaighte also graduated with his BComm degree and aims to continue his studies with a postgraduate qualification in Project Management at the University of Stellenbosch Business School.
Durr is the youngest among these three players but has also had an incredible year. After attending school in Malmesbury he started studying BSc Physiotherapy at the Stellenbosch University Tygerberg Campus and has to commute to and from Stellenbosch to attend practice, which speaks volumes about his commitment to both his studies and rugby.
Initially Durr ran out for the Maties u/21 team but played himself into the Victorians team before touring with Maties to Pretoria.
He made his Maties First XV debut at USSA and has also been included in the squad for the Varsity Cup.
After also being involved in the 2012 Varsity Sports campaign Durr caught the eye with his barnstorming runs in Camps Bay and also because at 1.93 and 100kg he looks more like a flanker than an outside back!
The achievements of these three players are a testament to the possibilities that Varsity Sevens bring and hopefully the success stories will continue to flow.
By Dorfling Terblanche
