Experienced look to Blitzbok squad for Dubai opener

Springbok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman has included 10 players who have tasted glory at the Emirates Dubai 7s in his first squad for the new HSBC SVNS season, which will kick off in the UAE next weekend.

Snyman – who was confirmed as Blitzbok head coach until the end of the next Olympic Games cycle in 2028 – included Donovan Don, David Brits and Tristan Leyds as first timers to the desert destination, but the rest of the group are familiar with the look and feel of the tournament trophy, including Impi Visser and Zain Davids, who have been named as co-captains for trip.

Snyman said he was very happy with the preparations for the new season and the way the 17 players named in the final Dubai training group responded to the challenge to make the final cut.

“The guys really worked hard and made it difficult for me to select the final group,” said Snyman.

“Players such as Mfundo Ndhlovu and Shaun Williams, who came back from injuries only a week ago, really made it difficult for me and another week of preparation could have changed my mind, but I am happy with the final group, their attitude and the experience in the squad.

“We have a good core of senior players and some exciting youngsters, who always bring energy to a group, so I am happy with this group. Part of the plan is to introduce new players during the season in order to build depth, something the Springboks are getting right at the moment, and we want to copy that principle.

“Apart from building depth in the squad, we are starting a new season with new goals. We want to take the ball wide a bit more and we are looking to defend better and differently in order to create some turn-over opportunities. The aim is to be consistent as well and finish in the top four in every tournament.”

The Springbok Sevens will face Olympic champions France, Australia and Kenya in their pool, but Snyman is not too fazed about that for now.

“We are only now going into the detail of those matches, the focus in the last couple of weeks was on ourselves and what we want to achieve during the campaign,” he said.

On the good results in Dubai over the last couple of seasons and the expectations it creates, Snyman said: “It is always good to start the season well, but what we saw in the recent past was that our performances took a dip after that. We are looking to improve on that and although there will be some building of depth, aim to finish in the top three at the end of the series.”

Springbok Sevens squad for Dubai (with HSBC SVNS stats)

#1 Christie Grobbelaar – 21 tournaments, 160 points (32 tries)

#2 Ryan Oosthuizen – 50 tournaments, 225 points (45 tries)

#3 Impi Visser (co-captain) – 39 tournaments, 205 points (41 tries)

#4 Zain Davids (co-captain) – 47 tournaments, 210 points (42 tries)

#5 Ricardo Duarttee – 12 tournaments, 216 points (15 tries, 69 conversions, 1 penalty goal)

#7 Ronald Brown – 17 tournaments, 379 points (39 tries, 92 conversions)

#10 Dewald Human – 26 tournaments, 289 points (25 tries, 82 conversions)

#11 Siviwe Soyizwapi – 53 tournaments, 780 points (152 tries)

#12 Shilton van Wyk – 20 tournaments, 185 points (37 tries)

#14 Quewin Nortje – 6 tournaments, 90 points (18 tries)

#15 Donovan Don – 3 tournaments, 15 points (3 tries)