Johannesburg – The Springbok Sevens announced an unchanged squad for the defence of their home Cup title, the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament.
Port Elizabeth will host Round 3 of the HSBC Sevens World Series at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium from December 13 to 14.
Blitzboks coach Neil Powell and his squad will attempt to become the first South African team to successfully defend their home title.
The Springbok Sevens captured the Dubai crown last weekend with some sparking displays on day-two in the famous desert city, defeating Argentina, New Zealand and Australia during their successful march to the Cup.
The result enabled South Africa to move two places up the World Series standings into second place, two points behind leaders Fiji, who lead with 39 points.
In naming an unchanged squad, Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell said the decision was easy after their success in Dubai.
“The players all deserve to be in the squad after that performance in Dubai,” Powell said.
“Every World Series tournament is an extremely tough and demanding event and there is no room for complacency.”
The top four teams on the final log standings at the end of the nine-tournament World Series would automatically qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Meanwhile, several Blitzboks were expected to surpass unique milestones this weekend.
Playmaker Cecil Afrika needs just 12 more points to better the all-time points scoring record of 925 held by Blitzboks legend Fabian Juries.
Branco du Preez will play in his 35th tournament this weekend, which places him on the SA Sevens honours board along Juries, Marius Schoeman, Mzwandile Stick and Frankie Horne.
South Africa are the top seeds in Pool A and will battle it out for a group qualification place against Wales, the USA and Kenya.
The Springbok Sevens team: 1. Ruhan Nel, 2. Philip Snyman, 3. Frankie Horne, 4. Kwagga Smith, 5. Werner Kok, 6. Kyle Brown (captain), 7. Branco du Preez, 8. Rayno Benjamin, 9. Warrick Gelant, 10. Cecil Afrika, 11. Seabelo Senatla, 12. Cheslin Kolbe.– Sapa