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SA Rugby deputy butchers Craven Week speech

Cape Town - The deputy president of SA Rugby Francois Davids delivered a cringe-worthy speech at the opening of Craven Week on Monday, according to reports.

Davids was tasked with delivering the welcome speech at the 2018 edition of the festival, hosted at Paarl Boys' High this year. 

However, according to local website Rugby365, Davids made a series of calamitous mistakes in his speech. 

First, the report says, he congratulated the Springboks on their recent series win over Ireland before congratulating Neil Powell's Blitzboks on retaining their 'SABC Sevens Series'

The Boks, of course, secured a 2-1 series over England in June (they hosted Ireland in 2016) while the official name of the Sevens World Series is the HSBC Sevens World Series. 

The report added that members of the crowd who were in attendance "did not take kindly" to the errors, with several getting up and walking away.

Davids was first appointed as SA Rugby deputy president in 2016, having previously been president of the Boland Rugby Union.

Controversy surrounded his time at Boland, with reports in 2014 linking him to possible nepotism when his brother Abe Davids was appointed as Boland head coach.

Abe Davids was suspended by the union after it emerged he had faked his qualifications.

The Craven Week ends on Saturday. 

Were you in attendance when Francois Davids delivered his speech? If so, email mysport@sport24.co.za with your version of how events unfolded.

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