Makata's hat-trick stuns Kenya

A hat-trick of tries by Sakoyisa Makata put the South African Sevens team into the quarterfinals of the Singapore Sevens with a comprehensive 26-5 win over African neighbours Kenya on Saturday.

Makata scored his first hat-trick for the Blitzboks by crossing in the first, fourth and ninth minute as he underlined his growth as a player and kept the Blitzboks winning streak going.

The team now are on 36 consecutive wins, and still chasing New Zealand’s 2007/8 record of 47, as well as being unbeaten in this year’s HSBC World Series as well.

Makata showed his pace by dotting down in the first minute before Selvyn Davids broke the line and added his name to the scoresheet.

From the next kickoff a kick through saw Makata beat the chasing Kenyan defenders to pounce on the ball and make it two and he added his third in the second half by rounding off a scoring opportunity in the corner.

The burly player has been quiet in the Blitzbok team until now and has started making his presence felt.

At 26-0 the game was sewn up and Kenya scored a late try on the final whistle by Alvin Marube to ensure it wasn’t a whitewash, but the match was over by then.

South Africa now face the USA, who beat Kenya 12-10 earlier and Canada 33-12 in their second game for the pool honours before Sunday’s knockout rounds begin.

The USA match will kick off at 13.33 (CAT, GMT+2) and will be live on SuperSport.