Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell has made 2 changes to his squad for the final 2 Rounds of the HSBC Sevens World Series tournaments in the United Kingdom next month.
The penultimate World Series tournament takes place on 9 and 10 May in Glasgow and the season concludes a week later with the 9th and last tournament of the season in London.
Stephan Dippenaar and Philip Snyman have both recovered from their knee injuries sustained in Hong Kong and return to the squad in place of the Carel du Preez (who made his debut in Tokyo) and the injured Justin Geduld (hamstring).
South Africa is currently leading the World Series standings after 7 Rounds, having won 2 Cup finals (Dubai and Port Elizabeth) and qualifying for the semi-finals of each of the previous 7 tournaments.
The team now returns to Glasgow, the venue of their Commonwealth Games triumph of last year. This time they face a daunting task to qualify for the quarterfinals.
South Africa will have to fight it out with New Zealand, Samoa and Kenya in Pool B for 1 of 2 group spots on offer in the Cup knockout stages.
The Top 4 teams on the final World Series standings at the end of the season qualify automatically for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Commenting on his selections for the UK tour, Springbok Sevens coach, Neil Powell said his players are thoroughly aware of the enormous task awaiting them in Scotland.
“We are in a very tough Pool and will have to fight all the way to qualify for the quarterfinals. Each pool match will be a knockout match for us, so there will be no room for complacency,” cautioned Powell.
He added: “It is important that we don’t get too far ahead of ourselves and think about the title race and Olympic qualification. The most important thing for us will be our 1st Pool match, and then the next one after that. We always strive for consistency and if we can manage to achieve our team objectives in each of the matches that we play, then I am sure the results will come,” said Powell.
South Africa Pool B fixtures in Glasgow are:
Saturday 9 May 2015:
- 10:58 SA Time (11:58 BST) vs Samoa
- 14:04 SA Time (15:04 BST) vs Kenya
- 17:37 SA Time (18:37) vs New Zealand
Springbok Sevens team is (with number of tournaments):
- Chris Dry (42)
- Philip Snyman (30)
- Frankie Horne (66)
- Kwagga Smith (13)
- Werner Kok (16)
- Kyle Brown (Captain, 46)
- Branco du Preez (39)
- Stephan Dippenaar (23)
- Ruhan Nel (4)
- Cecil Afrika (37)
- Seabelo Senatla (17)
- Rosko Specman (4)
Management Team:
- Neil Powell – Head coach
- Ashley Evert – Team Manager
- Alan Temple-Jones – Biokeneticist
- Hugh Everson – Physio
- Nadia Clenzos – Physio