After finishing 3rd at the previous 3 HSBC Sevens World Series tournaments, South Africa will be out to add another Cup title to their collection so far this season at the Japanese tournament this weekend.
The Springbok Sevens (110 points) are currently enjoying a slender lead of 2 points over Fiji at the top of World Series standings after 6 rounds. After winning the Cup in Dubai and Port Elizabeth, they have could not progress beyond the semi-final stages in Wellington, Las Vegas and Hong Kong.
The 17 points the team collected last weekend in Hong Kong allowed them to stay in 1st place above Fiji and New Zealand. Success in Tokyo on Sunday will thus allow the South Africans to consolidate their lead in the race for the coveted World Series title.
The Top 4 teams at the end of the HSBC Sevens World Series season in May will qualify automatically for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
For now, the focus is very much on the next World Series assignment in Tokyo, where the Springbok Sevens will be hoping to challenge strongly for the Cup. They kick off on Saturday morning against Canada (04:58 SA Time) and their remaining games will be played at 07:46 SA Time against Kenya and 11:58 SA Time versus the USA.
Neil Powell, the Springbok Sevens coach reckons said his charges will have to be alert and mentally strong in Tokyo.
“Tokyo is always a difficult tournament because it happens after a huge build-up the previous week in Hong Kong. I believe the team that arrives here in a good mental state will be successful, and hopefully that will be us,” said Powell.
Springbok Sevens squad for the Tokyo Sevens (WS caps in brackets, all SARU contracted):
- Chris Dry (41)
- Carel du Preez (0)
- Frankie Horne (65)
- Kwagga Smith (12)
- Werner Kok (14)
- Kyle Brown (Captain, 45)
- Branco du Preez (38)
- Ruhan Nel (4)
- Justin Geduld (16)
- Cecil Afrika (36)
- Seabelo Senatla (15)
- Rosko Specman (3)
South Africa’s Pool C fixtures on Saturday 4 April are:
- 04:28 vs Canada
- 07:46 vs Kenya
- 11:58 vs USA
All matches will be televised live on SuperSport 6. You can also follow the progress of the team on Twitter at @Blitzboks.