Cupido to debut as Snyman changes three for Hong Kong

Gino Cupido will make his debut for the Springbok Sevens team in Hong Kong next weekend after being named in the squad for the trip east, with his inclusion one of three changes from the Vancouver squad made by Blitzbok head coach Philip Snyman.

The 19-year-old Cupido was included with two Hong Kong veterans, Dewald Human and Zain Davids, as injuries and rotation determined Snyman’s squad as they aim for a first tournament victory at one of the most iconic HSBC SVNS events.

The trio replace Ronald Brown, who suffered an injury in Vancouver and has been ruled out, David Brits – who played in all four tournaments thus far and is given a break – and Sebastiaan Jobb, who is still out for two matches due to a red card offence in Vancouver.

Zain Davids returns from injury after he missed last month’s trip to Canada, while Human – who captained a youthful side to the 2018 event, where they finished third – takes over from Brown, who replaced him after the Perth tournament.

In 2023, Cupido represented South Africa in sevens at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago, and the SA Under-18 side in their International Series in the Western Cape.

Cupido, who for the SA ‘A’-side at the Dubai International Invitational in December last year, will slot in at centre, his regular position in fifteens. He has represented DHL Western Province at junior and senior level and is in the current Junior Springbok training group.

“The development of our depth remains a core part of our selection policy, while we are also looking at bringing in new energy for each tournament, in this case giving David a break,” said Snyman.

“Gino is really talented and has been close to selection a couple of times, and I am really pleased for him. He worked hard over several months now. Dewald comes in for Ronald at flyhalf in a straight swop.

“Zain’s return is testimony to our medical staff’s ability to rehabilitate players. After Zain’s injury in Perth, we were worried about his comeback time, but the hard work by himself and the medical staff reaped rewards for us.”

The Blitzboks will face Uruguay, Australia and New Zealand in a tough Pool B, but Snyman said his opponents had little to do with his final team selection and as usual, they would rather be focusing on their own execution.

“We played both Australia and New Zealand in Vancouver and actually had a training match before the tournament with Uruguay, so the teams will know each other well,” said Snyman.

“What we are looking for in Hong Kong is work ethic, clinical execution and a never-say-die attitude on defence. If we manage that, we will come close to our goal of reaching semifinals again.”

The Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2025 will be played from 28-30 March at a new venue, with the tournament moved to the 50 000-seater Kai Tak Stadium, rather than the Hong Kong Stadium in Causeway Bay.

Pool B fixtures:

Friday 28 March

11:56am: Uruguay

2:39pm: Australia

Saturday 29 March

7:43am: New Zealand

Springbok Sevens squad for Hong Kong:

#2 Ryan Oosthuizen – 53 tournaments, 230 points (46 tries)

#3 Impi Visser (co-captain) – 43 tournaments, 220 points (44 tries)

#4 Zain Davids – 50 tournaments, 225 points (45 tries)

#5 Ricardo Duarttee – 16 tournaments, 255 points (20 tries, 76 conversions, 1 penalty goal)

#8 Selvyn Davids (co-captain) – 39 tournaments, 712 points (93 tries, 122 conversions, 1 penalty goal)