South Africa’s Ricardo Duarttee celebrates after scoring a try against Great Britain at the Cape Town Stadium. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)
The new sensation of the Blitzboks Ricardo Duarte is relishing the chance to play in front of his home fans at the Cape Town Stadium.
LIVE | Cape Town Sevens
Duarttee, 24, burst onto the Sevens scene during last weekend’s Dubai Sevens, where he was instrumental in South Africa’s title race.
Duarttee was nicknamed “Tricky Ricky” at the Dubai event and turned heads again in Cape Town this weekend.
The playmaker was on fire in Saturday night’s 21-14 win over Great Britain in the Cup quarter-final.
He scored an impressive try and netted three conversions for a career haul of 11 points as the Blitzboks booked a semi-final date with Samoa on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a dream come true. I am so thankful and blessed for this opportunity. I know this is just the beginning for me… I truly believe that with God’s help, I am going to reach heights with this opportunity,” Duarttee told reporters. after the Great Britain game.
Duarttee said the video at Cape Town Stadium was incredible.
“It’s something I’ve never experienced in my life, it’s something that really excites me. [to experience] tomorrow,” he said. “I think there will be a lot of energy. On Friday, I was quite surprised that there was only 20% capacity and [it] it still made a lot of noise!
“But now I’m getting more involved in the game, and I don’t even hear the crowd as much anymore. But I know tomorrow will be special when we sing the national anthem.”
It was previously reported that Duarttee had to sell his car to pay for his enrollment at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport (SAS Rugby Sevens Academy).
It’s a movement that reaped its rewards in 2022, and Duarttee says it integrated seamlessly with more seasoned blitzbok activists.
“I’ve been living with them for a while, since the beginning of the year, playing at SAS Academy… seeing and greeting them every day. We managed to form a relationship outside of the team and when we got the opportunity to train together it only got better. And as soon as we I joined the team [they] made me feel at home.
“Now I just want to bring video to the team, bring energy and they love it.”
READ | How a Broken Leg Explains Ricardo ‘Tricky Ricky’ Duarttee’s Instant Blitzbok Cult Hero Status
When asked about letting his emotions out on the pitch, Duarttee explained: “I’ve been hard on myself ever since I planned to become a Springbok, which is pretty much my whole life. So, I’ve always been hard on myself and I would say the Emotions really come out when I can smile and achieve something that I really wanted to achieve.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s semi-final against Samoa, and a possible title in the final, Duarttee said: “You have to believe you can pull this off. I keep my feet on the ground, but I keep my head up and I know where my power comes from.” .
The Blitzboks will face Samoa in the Cup semi-finals at 15:46 on Sunday. The other semifinal will be between New Zealand and the United States (15:24).
