AFRIKA BACK WITH BLITZBOKS FOR VEGAS
SOUTH Africa’s leading sevens points scorer Cecil Afrika has been included in the Blitzboks squad for the North American leg of the HSBC World Sevens Series after an injury layoff.
Afrika missed tournaments in Wellington and Sydney‚ both won by the Blitzboks‚ due to a knee injury.
It is a timely return for the wily veteran‚ who has a career total of 1 167 points‚ with star wing Seabelo Senatla out of the team due to Super Rugby commitments.
The series moves to Las Vegas next week for the fifth round‚ marking the halfway point in the season‚ and the following week it travels to Vancouver for round six.
Las Vegas might be where dreams are regularly shattered at its casinos, but for the Blitzboks it is a charmed city.
They have won three titles in Vegas since 2010, and after winning three of the opening four rounds of the series so far‚ they are odds-on to win again.
But they will also be without key forward Kwagga Smith‚ who has returned to the Lions for Super Rugby duty.
The vastly experienced Stephan Dippenaar replaces Smith in the squad.
The Blitzboks are 17 points clear of England at the top of the standings on 85 from a possible 88 points‚ and are well in control to win the overall title for a second time.
But without Senatla‚ the series’ leading try scorer with 32‚ they will have to find tries elsewhere.
Siviwe Soyizwapi is Senatla’s direct replacement‚ and having been part of the squad all season‚ he will now have his chance to shine as a starter.
Coach Neil Powell said: “We knew the time would come for us to play without Seabelo and Kwagga, and that time is now.
“That we have two proven players to slot in is a bonus.
“Cecil has scored over 1 000 points in the series and Stephan has been part of squads that won the Las Vegas tournament in the past‚ so I am pretty pleased.”
Powell added debutant Stedman Gans to his squad‚ with the former Junior Springbok and SA Schools back travelling as the 13th player or official reserve‚ as per World Rugby agreement.
Gans played for the SA Rugby Sevens Academy in Dubai in December and has been training with the national team since November.
“We have to build some depth and experience in the group. Stedman has proved in training that he is ready to play at this level.
“Zain Davids showed in Wellington and Sydney that our systems are in place and this will be a good learning curve for Stedman‚ no doubt‚” Powell said.
Philip Snyman will again captain the squad and according to the 41-tournament veteran‚ the experience of Afrika and Dippenaar will help him.
Snyman said: “Cecil was playing great rugby in Dubai and Cape Town and Dippies has been part of winning tournaments in the past‚ so it is great to have them around.
“Both are strong leaders in their own right and will help me in that regard as well.
“We all know what our roles are and if we execute that‚ we will be very competitive.”
The Springbok Sevens team for the HSBC Las Vegas Sevens (with caps and points) is: 1 Chris Dry (56‚ 405) 2 Philip Snyman (captain‚ 41‚ 246) 3 Dylan Sage (11‚ 50) 4 Zain Davids (2‚ 0) 5 Werner Kok (23‚ 275) 6 Siviwe Soyizwapi (7‚ 50) 7 Branco du Preez (49‚ 963) 8 Stephan Dippenaar (30‚ 210) 9 Justin Geduld (29‚ 659) 10 Cecil Afrika (47‚ 1167) 11 Rosko Specman (17‚ 203) 12 Ruhan Nel (15‚ 140) 13 Stedman Gans* (0‚ 0) *Reserve player