Who is Zain Davids: Ten things you should know about the South Africa Sevens International

The tough-tackling loose forward has been part of world-leading sides

Who is Zain Davids: Ten things you should know about the South Africa Sevens International

Zain Davids is a superb defensive player for South Africa’s sevens side.

He has won world titles after a promising youth career in the XVs game.

Ten things you should know about Zain Davids

1. Mogamat Zain Davids was born on 4 May 1997 in Cape Town and attended the prestigious Rondebosch Boys’ High School in the city.

2. He represented Western Province at schoolboy level, before making the South Africa Schools squad In 2015.

3. He played for South Africa at the 2016 World Rugby U20 Championship in England, starting every match as the Junior Springboks finished fourth. His dynamic performances at flanker led to a call-up to the South Africa Sevens academy squad in November 2016.

Zain Davids

Davids played in the 2016 World Rugby U20 Championship (Getty Images)

4. Davids made his Blitzboks debut at the Wellington Sevens in January 2017, before scoring his first World Sevens Series try in Singapore the following April.

5. His debut Sevens Series was a triumphant one as South Africa won their first title since 2009, and he was part of the squad that defended their crown in in the 2017/18 season.

6. Davids’ was part of the South Africa side that came third at the 2018 Sevens World Cup in San Francisco.

7. He spent a brief period on loan with the Sharks over 2020 and 2021 while the international sevens circuit lay dormant due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

8. Davids became an Olympian in 2021 as he competed for South Africa’s sevens side in Tokyo, where the Blitzboks lost in the quarter-finals to Argentina.

9. He secured his third Sevens Series title in 2021 after South Africa won a truncated tournament by winning the two rounds contested.

10. Davids was a defensive stalwart at the beginning of the 2021/22 World Sevens Series, making 68 tackles, the second-most in the competition, over the first six rounds.

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