Veteran Springbok Sevens player Fabien Juries, who missed the first two tournaments of the current IRB Sevens Series because of an ankle injury, scored his 100th try against Scotland in South Africa’s 31-7 victory in the opener at the Wellington tournament on Friday.
With his first touch of the ball after replacing Eddie Fredericks, Juries blazed past Scotland’s defence on his way to the record books as the first South African to score 100 tries in the Sevens version of the game.
On the international front, he becomes the fourth player in history to do so, joining the likes of Karl Te Nana, Peter Miller and Santiago Gomez Cora, who also reached the milestone at the Wellington competition on Friday.
Grahamstown-born Juries’s 99th try was in London in 2004.
The Scotland game will also be memorable to Tobela Mdaka, who returned to the circuit after last representing Springbok Sevens in 2000. Mdaka also celebrated his comeback with a try against the Scots.
Coach Paul Treu said he is thrilled by the achievement of former teammate Juries.
”I am very happy for him. As a senior player, he has always been an inspiration to the young players. Now he has shown them how to do it in a different way, leading by example, so to speak.” — Sapa