The Springbok Sevens don’t have Bryan Habana again, but senior player Philip Snyman and ex-Bok No 8 Ryan Kankowski are back from injury for two tournaments in Asia next month.
The popular Hong Kong Sevens, from April 8-10, will be followed by the Singapore Sevens a week later, which returns to the World Series circuit for the first time since 2006.
Snyman missed out on the North America loop in Las Vegas and Vancouver earlier this month due to a shoulder problem, while Kankowski travelled with the squad, but was unable to shake off an ankle strain.
The other new faces in the squad are debutant Siviwe “Shakes” Soyizwapi, who has played Super Rugby for the Southern Kings, and the experienced Stephan Dippenaar.
They replace Habana, who has gone back to French club Toulon, Chris Dry and Rosco Speckman, who are being rested, as well as Dylan Sage.
Speckman has been one of the standout players for the Blitzbokke this season in their march to second position on the World Series log on 105 points, one behind Fiji and one ahead of New Zealand. But coach Neil Powell said giving Speckman and Dry a breather was planned at this stage of the season in an Olympic year, with the Rio Games taking place in August.
“Chris and Rosco have played in all the tournaments so far, so a rest will do them good. We need to get Ryan to play some Sevens, as we only have four tournaments left to see what he has to offer,” Powell said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Stephan is also a squad regular who has recovered from injury. He can cover flyhalf and centre, and he has experience. Philip, meanwhile, is fit again after his shoulder injury and is a vital component in our squad.”
The 23-year-old Soyizwapi is an exciting talent who is a fullback and wing in 15-man rugby, and played Super Rugby for the Kings in 2013 and was part of the Stormers squad a year later. He has trained with the Blitzbokke for a few months already and will be hoping to make a late bid for inclusion in the Olympic group.
“He has been part of our squad for a while now and would have played in Las Vegas and Vancouver, but unfortunately he picked up a groin injury,” Powell said of Soyizwapi. “I am very happy to see him getting his chance now. He has worked hard and he deserves the opportunity to go out and play for his country.”
The Blitzbokke will be led by regular skipper Kyle Brown, who remained behind in Canada for a few days following a chest problem, but has recovered fully. The South Africans will be hoping to go one step further than they did in Vancouver, where they came unstuck against New Zealand in the Cup final.
And they have the added motivation of trying to become the first Bok Sevens side to win the famous Hong Kong tournament, while they have had success in Singapore previously, having won the event in 2004. They leave for Hong Kong on Saturday, and have been drawn in Pool B against England, Russia and Scotland.
“Our approach remains the same for each tournament and what we would like to do better going forward is to eliminate the costly 10% from our game, because we played very well 90% of the time in Las Vegas and Vancouver, but then let ourselves down against Australia in Las Vegas and New Zealand in Vancouver respectively, where we basically lost against ourselves,” Powell said.
Springbok Sevens Squad (number of tournaments in brackets)
Ryan Kankowski (4), Philip Snyman (34), Tim Agaba (3), Kwagga Smith (21), Siviwe Soyizwapi (0), Kyle Brown (52, captain), Branco du Preez (43), Stephan Dippenaar (25), Justin Geduld (23), Cecil Afrika (41), Seabelo Senatla (25), Ruhan Nel (8).
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