The Springbok Sevens have called up wing Rosko Specman in place of the injured Justin Geduld for the next leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Las Vegas.
The 3-day USA rugby event kicks off this coming Friday and South Africa are the defending champions.
Geduld suffered a hamstring injury over the weekend at the Wellington Sevens, where the Springbok Sevens claimed 3rd spot after a strong finish in their playoff match against Scotland. Specman (Steval Pumas) has 1 World Series tournament under his belt.
South Africa head the log with 76 points halfway through the 9-tournament World Series and are 7 points clear of New Zealand, who moved into 2nd place. The top 4 sides on the final standings in May will gain automatic entry into the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
Reflecting on their showing in New Zealand, Powell said he and his management team will work hard on the team’s mental preparation during the next few days.
“We were not as sharp and probably not as mentally focussed as we would have liked to be on the 1st day in Wellington. We did much better on the Saturday and I am glad we finished the tournament with a good win against Scotland in the playoffs (for 3rd place).
“The guys have to work hard in the next few days to build on the momentum we gained against Scotland,” said Powell.
South Africa will face hosts USA, Portugal and Japan in the pool stages of the Las Vegas tournament.