Dewald Dawid Human (born 19 May 1995) is a South African rugby sevens player, currently playing with the South Africa national team.[1] He can play as a fly-half or fullback.

Dewald Human
Full nameDewald Dawid Human
Date of birth (1995-05-19) 19 May 1995 (age 29)
Place of birthUniondale, South Africa
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight70 kg (150 lb; 11 st 0 lb)
SchoolHoërskool Outeniqua, George
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half / Fullback
Youth career
2011–2013 SWD Eagles
2014–2016 Blue Bulls
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015 UP Tuks 8 (29)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 Southern Kings 3 (10)
Correct as of 18 July 2016
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013 South African Schools 1 (7)
2017–present South Africa Sevens 18 (66)
Correct as of 14 November 2018

Medal record
Men's rugby sevens
Representing  South Africa
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Team competition
Africa Men's Sevens
Silver medal – second place 2024 Mauritius Team Competition

Rugby career

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Youth rugby : SWD Eagles

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Human was born in Uniondale, South Africa. He attended and played rugby for Hoërskool Outeniqua in George, which is situated in the SWD Eagles catchment area. In 2011, he was called up to represent the SWD Eagles' Under-16 team at the Grant Khomo Week tournament held in Queenstown. He was mainly used as a reserve, but scored one try in their 22–10 victory over the Blue Bulls.[2]

In 2012, he represented the SWD Eagles at the premier high schools rugby union tournament in South Africa, the Under-18 Craven Week, held in Port Elizabeth. He was the starting fly-half for his side in all three matches; in the second of those – a 33–39 defeat to against Western Province – he scored two tries and kicked a conversion for a points haul of 12 points.[3]

He was again selected in SWD Eagles' Craven Week side for the 2013 event held in Polokwane and scored a try in his first match, a 27–34 defeat to the Golden Lions.[4] He converted five tries in his second match against Eastern Province in a 40–14 win[5] and delivered an even better scoring performance in their final match, scoring one try, three penalties and four conversions for a personal points tally of 22 in a 37–29 victory over the Blue Bulls.[6] His two tries and 27 points with the boot placed him in eleventh position in the points scoring charts for the tournament.[7]

At the conclusion of the tournament, Human was also included in a South African Schools squad. He was named on the bench for their first match of the 2013 Under-18 International Series against England, but was not used in their 19–14 victory.[8] He started their second match against of the series against France, kicking a penalty and two conversions in a 17–13 victory.[9] He dropped down to the bench for their final match against Wales and did not appear in their 14–13 victory.[10]

Blue Bulls / Tuks

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After high school, Human moved to Pretoria, where he joined the Blue Bulls academy. He was included in the Blue Bulls U19 squad for the 2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship and immediately established himself as the first-choice fly-half for the team. He started nine of their twelve matches during the regular season, helping the team finish top of the log, winning nine of their matches.[11] He scored his first (and second) try at this level in their Round Five match against trans-Jukskei rivals Golden Lions U19, also kicking eleven points to help his side to a 36–11 victory.[12] His biggest contribution with the boot came in their Round Twelve match against Sharks U19, kicking four penalties and two conversions in a 50–25 victory.[13] He started their semi-final match against the Sharks, scoring a try, a penalty and five conversions for a points haul of 18 points in a 43–20 victory,[14] and also scored a try in the final against Western Province U19, but could not prevent his side losing 26–33 to the team from Cape Town.[15] In total, Human contributed 115 points to the Blue Bulls' points total during the season, the third-most in Group A of the competition, behind Western Province's Ernst Stapelberg and the Sharks' Inny Radebe.[16]

At the start of 2015, Human played Varsity Cup rugby with the Pretoria-based university side, UP Tuks. He was generally used as backup to Joshua Stander during the competition, but did start in their matches against CUT Ixias[17] and UJ,[18] making a total of eight appearances and scored 29 points, including a try in their 53–8 win over Maties.[19] In the latter half of 2015, Human played in the Under-21 Provincial Championship with Blue Bulls U21. He made just five appearances, starting three of those, scoring just three points via a penalty in their match against Sharks U21[20] during the season.

South Africa Sevens / Kings

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Human was contracted by the South African Rugby Union to join the South Africa Sevens Academy and was also named in an extended training squad as preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[21] However, he failed to make any appearances for the senior sevens squad during the 2015–16 Sevens World Series. On 5 May 2017, he was selected for the South Africa Sevens team to compete in the final two tournaments of the 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens Series in Paris and London.

He started training with Port Elizabeth-based Southern Kings during the 2016 Super Rugby season and was named on the bench for their Round Fourteen match against Argentine side the Jaguares.[22]

In 2022, He was part of the South African team that won their second Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham.[23][24][25][26]

References

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  1. ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Dewald Human". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  2. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD 22–10 Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – WP 39–33 SWD". South African Rugby Union. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  4. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Golden Lions 34–27 SWD". South African Rugby Union. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  5. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Eastern Province 14–40 SWD". South African Rugby Union. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  6. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls 29–37 SWD". South African Rugby Union. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  7. ^ "SA Rugby Top Scorers – 2013 U18 Craven Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  8. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 19–14 England". South African Rugby Union. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  9. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17–13 France". South African Rugby Union. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  10. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 14–13 Wales". South African Rugby Union. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  11. ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2014 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Golden Lions U19 11–36 Blue Bulls U19". South African Rugby Union. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  13. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Free State U19 25–50 Blue Bulls U19". South African Rugby Union. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  14. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U19 43–20 Sharks U19". South African Rugby Union. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  15. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U19 33–26 Blue Bulls U19". South African Rugby Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  16. ^ "SA Rugby Top Scorers – 2014 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  17. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP - TUKS 63–8 FNB CUT". South African Rugby Union. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  18. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UJ 0–34 FNB UP - TUKS". South African Rugby Union. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  19. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP - TUKS 53–8 FNB MATIES". South African Rugby Union. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  20. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks U21 29–23 Blue Bulls U21". South African Rugby Union. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  21. ^ "Boks galore in Blitzbok squad". SuperSport. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  22. ^ "Sharks player makes Kings debut". SuperSport. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  23. ^ Mostert, Herman. "Team SA squad named for 2022 Commonwealth Games". news24.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  24. ^ "Soyizwapi, Plaatjies to lead SA Sevens teams at Commonwealth Games". sarugby.co.za. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  25. ^ "South Africa stun Fiji to win men's rugby sevens Commonwealth gold". the Guardian. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  26. ^ "Australia and South Africa win rugby sevens gold at Commonwealth Games". www.world.rugby. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.