South Africa 7s Head Coach Philip Snyman has included 10 experienced players who have tasted glory at the Dubai 7s in his squad for the new HSBC SVNS World 7s season, which will kick off in the UAE this weekend.
Snyman, who was confirmed as Blitzbok's head coach until the end of the next Olympic Games in 2028 – included Donovan Don, David Brits and Tristan Leyds as first-timers to the desert destination, but the rest of the group is familiar with the look and feel of the tournament trophy, including Impi Visser and Zain Davids, who have been named as co-captains for the trip.
The Blitzbok coach says 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.
Syman says the guys really worked hard and made it difficult for him to select the final group.
The Blitzbok 7s squad for Dubai include Christie Grobbelaar, Ryan Oosthuizen, Impi Visser (co-captain), Zain Davids (co-captain), Ricardo Duarttee, Ronald Brown, Dewald Human, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Shilton van Wyk, Quewin Nortje, Donovan Don, David Brits, Tristan Leyds.
The South African 7s side is in Pool A with Olympic gold medallists France, Australia and Kenya.
Meanwhile, the Fiji Airways Men’s National 7s side's first match is against Spain at 6.06pm Saturday, they will then take on the USA at 9.52pm before they play New Zealand at 3.16am Sunday in their final pool match.
The men’s cup quarter finals will kick off at 6.48pm Sunday, the semi finals will start at 10.06pm Sunday, and the cup final will be at 4.11am next Monday. The Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s is in Pool A alongside Ireland, Australia, and China.
They will take on Ireland at 5.44pm Saturday in their first pool match, they will then face Australia at 9.05pm and play China at 1.13am Sunday in their final pool match.
The women’s cup quarterfinals will kick off at 5.20pm Sunday, the semi finals will begin at 9.12pm, and the cup final will be at 3.35am next Monday.
Source: Springboks.rugby
