Blitzbokke plan a Sevens blitz
THE Blitzbokke have a chance to lift the air of gloom and doom hanging over South African rugby by delivering strong showings in the first two legs of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
First up on the Sevens circuit is the Dubai tournament which will pose a stiff test for the South Africans who are among the favourites to go all the way.
South Africa face Uganda, Scotland and the USA in pool play today in Dubai before the knockout stages.
Next week Blitzbokke return home for the Cape Town Sevens tournament where the pressure will be on to emerge victorious in front of their expectant home fans.
Blitzbokke coach Neil Powell says his team are excited about the start of the season and that the team have set themselves targets they hope to reach.
“It will be important for us to start strong again,” said Powell.
“We ended the previous season well with the Olympic Games and all that came with that, but this is a new season and a new start for us again. We need to get out of the block really well by performing in Dubai and then in Cape Town a week later.”
Powell is also keen to get the season under way as part of a fouryear cycle that will culminate in Tokyo in 2020, when the next Olympic Games will take place.
“We will be bringing in a number of new faces during the season as we have to increase our depth.
“Some of the current players will not make it through to the next Olympics, so it will be important to identify and develop the right players with an eye to the future,” said Powell.
“We must not lose sight of the fact that we still need to be in a position to win tournaments and the overall series, but the additional goal of finding the next generation of players adds to what promises to be an exciting series for all of us.”
Two players with Port Elizabeth connections are in the two South African teams in Dubai.
Siviwe “Shakes” Soyizwapi, who played for the EP Kings in the Currie Cup this year, and Southern Kings flyer Malcolm Jaer are both in Dubai.
Soyizwapi is in the Blitzbokke squad, while Jaer, who will return to play for the Kings in Super Rugby, has been included in the SA Rugby Sevens Academy team.
Another former EP player, Selvyn Davids, who is now at the Griffons, was also included in the Academy team.
Four of the most experienced Springbok Sevens players, boasting a total of 198 tournament caps between them are in Powell’s 13-man squad for the main tournament.
Kyle Brown (56 tournaments), Chris Dry (52), Cecil Afrika and Branco du Preez (45 each) have all been included in the Blitzbokke squad for the Emirates Airlines Dubai 7s on December 2 and 3, while another stalwart, Philip Snyman (37 tournaments), was named as captain of the side.
The SA Rugby Sevens Academy side, on the other hand, will have a number of new faces as Academy manager Marius Schoeman looks to grow the depth of his group with some talented youngsters.
The Springbok Sevens squad: Chris Dry (52 tournaments, 360 points), Philip Snyman (capt, 37, 211), Dylan Sage (7, 40), Kwagga Smith (24, 250), Werner Kok (19, 210), Kyle Brown (56, 385), Branco du Preez (45, 874), Rosko Specman (13, 169), Justin Geduld (25, 558), Cecil Afrika (45, 1123), Ruhan Nel (11, 110), Seabelo Senatla (29, 785), Siviwe Soyizwapi (3, 30).
The SA Rugby Sevens Academy squad: Ryan Oosthuizen (Western Province), Stephan Dippenaar (SA Rugby), Zain Davids (Western Province), Robbie Louw (Boland), Impi Visser (Blue Bulls) , Wayne van der Bank (Golden Lions), Selvyn Davids (Griffons) , Malcolm Jaer (Eastern Province), Diederik Oberholzer (Leopards), Mfundo Ndhlovu (KZN), Joel Booysen (Western Province), Stedman Gans (Blue Bulls).