Backline players Dewald Human and Gino Cupido have been included in the Springbok Sevens squad that will travel to Spain and France on Sunday to compete in the final two HSBC SVNS World Championship tournaments, in Valladolid and Bordeaux.
The duo missed out on the first of the three World Championship events – won by the Blitzboks in Hong Kong last month – due to injury, but they have recovered and will have a specific role to play on tour, Bok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman said on Thursday.
“It is great to be able to select from a big squad for our final two tournaments, as we only have Christie Grobbelaar (calf), Nabo Sokoyi (shoulder) and Zander Reynders (shoulder) out of contention,” said Snyman.
“I had some tough decisions to make but opted for Dewald as an extra flyhalf option given the back-to-back tournaments, while Gino replaces Donavan Don at centre, where we are looking for a bit more height in the midfield and a slight change in approach in that position.
“I have to compliment and mention our medical team, who again did an excellent job to have so many players fit, ready and in contention for selection.”
Human and Shilton van Wyk look set to reach 35 tournaments when the Blitzboks arrive in Bordeaux for the second tournament of the trip.
“That is a benchmark in our team, so it will be a special moment for both, something that will be shared by all, as well as those who did not make the squad,” said Snyman. “The guys that stay behind deserve a lot of credit for their hard work as well.”
The Blitzboks will face Great Britain, Kenya and Australia in Pool A at Estadio Jose Zorrilla next week.
“We do not prepare for specific teams in mind; it is more about what we want to go out and achieve on the field of play,” said Snyman.
“We learned some lessons in Hong Kong and adjusted accordingly in our sessions since then and I think we are in a good space. The big squad resulted in very competitive training sessions, so we leave here well prepared.
“We know there is a target on our back in every match we play, so need to be ready. We saw in Hong Kong how easy you can trip up if not ready from the very first game, so made the necessary changes in our approach to prevent a slow start.”
SOUTH AFRICA’S POOL A FIXTURES (all matches live on SuperSport):
Friday 29 May: (SA times)
12:34pm: Great Britain
5:08pm: Kenya
Saturday, 30 May
1:23pm: Australia
Springbok Sevens squad (with HSBC SVNS stats):
#2 Ryan Oosthuizen - 63 tournaments, 285 points (57 tries)
#3 Impi Visser (captain) - 51 tournaments, 240 points (48 tries)
#4 Zain Davids - 58 tournaments, 255 points (51 tries)
#7 Ronald Brown - 25 tournaments, 505 points (51 tries, 125 conversions)
#8 Selvyn Davids - 47 tournaments, 793 points (107 tries, 129 conversions, 1 penalty goal)
#10 Dewald Human - 33 tournaments, 330 points (30 tries, 90 conversions)
#11 Siviwe Soyizwapi - 65 tournaments, 805 points (161 tries)
#12 Shilton van Wyk - 33 tournaments, 370 points (74 tries)
#14 Quewin Nortje - 13 tournaments, 165 points (33 tries)
#16 Sebastiaan Jobb - 9 tournaments, 80 points (16 tries)
#19 David Brits - 16 tournaments, 60 points (12 tries)
#24 Tristan Leyds - 18 tournaments, 236 points (30 tries, 43 conversions)
#31 Jayden Nell – 2 tournaments, 0 points
#35 Gino Cupido – 3 tournaments, 30 points (6 tries)