Gamildien’s long Bafana wait comes to an end

Swallows FC forward Ruzaigh Gamildien finally won a fourth cap for Bafana Bafana against Ghana on Thursday some seven years, six months and 15 days after his last, but that incredible gap between appearances is not a record for the national team.

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It does put Gamildien second on the list of longest period between national appearances and he took his chance in a lively display that included setting up Bafana’s equaliser for Percy Tau in the second half.

But it was still some way behind the record holder, striker Eleazar Rodgers, who had a gap of eight years and eight days between his second and third caps for Bafana. He won five in all.

Rodgers made his debut in a COSAFA Cup clash against Malawi in May 2007 and then played again against the same opposition in September 2008, this time in a friendly.

He had to wait until October 2016 to win a recall to the national team from then coach Shakes Mashaba and played in a 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso that was a World Cup qualifier.

He later featured against Ghana and in the infamous World Cup qualifier against Senegal that had to be replayed after referee Joseph Lamptey was found guilty of match manipulation. It proved to be his last appearance for the national team.

Gamildien’s first two caps came in the 2013 COSAFA Cup, before he later also featured in a friendly against Zimbabwe in September of that year.

That was it until his call for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Ghana and Sudan this month, and he started against the Black Stars at FNB Stadium on Thursday.