Extra men come to rescue of Blitzbok squad

The Blitzboks will go into the opening stages of the 20182019 HSBC World Sevens Series shorn of key players through injury and XVs commitments.

Coach Neil Powell used last season to build depth when they took part in the Commonwealth Games and the Sevens World Cup on top of their World Series commitments.

The foundations laid by using 28 players last season will help in 2018 as the team look to plug some sizeable gaps in their personnel roster.

Record try-scorer Seabelo Senatla‚ dual XVs and sevens Springbok Kwagga Smith‚ Dylan Sage‚ Ruhan Nel‚ Rhyno Smith and Tim Agaba are done with sevens for now.

Cecil Afrika‚ Stedman Gans and Heino Bezuidenhout are unavailable for selection due to injuries. But there are still some experienced players.

Kyle Brown‚ Branco du Preez‚ Rosko Specman‚ Phillip Snyman‚ Werner Kok‚ Justin Geduld and Chris Dry are a formidable spine.

Afrika is recovering from a hamstring injury sustained earlier in 2018‚ when the Blitzboks clinched a second consecutive HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series title.

He will not be ready for selection in two weeks’ time when Powell names his first squad of the season for the opening tournament in Dubai.

Gans injured his ankle playing for the Blue Bulls U21s against the Golden Lions in their final at Newlands two weeks ago and Bezuidenhout suffered a hand injury in training last week.

“Injuries are part and parcel of rugby‚” Powell said.

“We did broaden our base of players over the last two seasons and that will help us [cope] with the loss of senior players who have either moved on or are injured.

“I am confident that we will put out a very competitive team for Dubai and Cape Town.”

Powell believed the experience gained by some of the younger players in the previous campaign would aid the team’s preparation.

The foundations laid by using 28 players last season will certainly help in 2018 as the team look to plug some sizeable gaps in their personnel roster