Blitzbok rookie Muller du Plessis has recovered from a leg injury and wants to make a big impact at the London Sevens this weekend.
The 19-year-old speedster started the season with a bang, scoring a hattrick of tries against Fiji in Dubai, but things went sour after that.
He got injured in the opening game in Cape Town a week later and also missed the Hamilton and Sydney legs.
Du Plessis was named as travelling reserve to Las Vegas, where he got some game time before a solid contribution in Vancouver, where the Blitzboks delivered a superb performance to win the Canada Sevens for the first time.
In his 13 matches at the time, he scored 10 tries.
A shoo-in for the tournaments in Hong Kong and Singapore, Du Plessis pulled up with a leg injury in the week leading up to their departure for the Far East, and as a result he missed out again.
IN FORM: Shakes Soyizwapi. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
But this week in London, Du Plessis is fit and ready and says: “Doing rehab instead of playing is never first option.
“It does give you time though to work on certain elements of your game and get the body strong again. I was itching to play and was ecstatic to hear that I was selected.”
He adds: “I play in a position where the competition is fierce.
“Shakes [Siviwe Soyizwapi] had an outstanding year so far, while Angelo [Davids] and Mfundo [Ndhlovu] also enjoyed good runs when they played.”