Gans is the new Blitzboks skipper

CECIL Afrika and Werner Kok will bolster the Blitzboks for the upcoming World Sevens Series events in Hamilton and Sydney, while Stedman Gans will captain the side for the first time.

Coach Neil Powell has had to re-jig his group from the one that did duty at the Cape Town Sevens in December due to injuries and several players being unavailable.

The likes of Rosko Specman, Dylan Sage (both Bulls), Ruhan Nel, Seabelo Senatla (both Stormers) have returned to Super Rugby, while regular captain Siviwe Soyizwapi (ankle) and youngster Kurt-Lee Arendse (knee) are not ready to play in Hamilton (January 25-26) and Sydney (February 1-2).

Apart from Gans and Afrika; Angelo Davids, Branco du Preez, Impi Visser and Muller du Plessis are back in the squad, and with this being an Olympic year, the players will be going all out to catch the eye for the Tokyo Games, especially after losing 7-5 in the Cape Town final to New Zealand.

Powell felt that Gans impressed as a skipper for the SA Sevens Academy. “Stedman is part of the leadership group and did very well when he captained a very senior Academy squad in Dubai last month,” the coach said.

“He is also playing very well and that helps. We do have some very experienced players in decision-making roles too, and that will help Stedman as well.

“It is great to have the likes of

Branco, Cecil and Werner back as well as Stedman, Muller and Angelo, all of whom played well during our warm-up tournaments in Germany, Kenya and England last year. Our pool in Hamilton is pretty tough, and the new format will punish teams not performing in each match.”

The Blitzboks – joint World Series leaders with New Zealand on 41 points – will take on England, Kenya and Japan. |