The Springbok Sevens team for the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament to be played in Port Elizabeth at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on 8 and 9 December was announced this afternoon by team manager, Ashley Evert.
The Springbok Sevens team squad for the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens is:
- Chris Dry
- Philip Snyman
- Frankie Horne (Captain)
- Warren Whiteley
- Cornal Hendricks
- Cheslin Kolbe
- Ruwellyn Isbell
- Stephan Dippenaar
- Paul Delport
- Cecil Afrika
- Tshotsho Mbovane
- Bernado Botha
Port Elizabeth player, Steven Hunt was not considered as he injured his ankle in practise yesterday.
Coach Paul Treu said that the team was under no illusion that the tournament would be a massive challenge for the team.
Captain Frankie Horn echoed Treu’s assessment of a massive challenge but conceded that massive support from a home crowd in Port Elizabeth would be the impetus to propel them to success.
Treu said that they would be addressing a tendency to score tries in the corner and aim for scoring closer to the poles to ensure the all important extra two points from conversions.
Cecil Afrika returns to the Springbok Sevens squad for the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament after missing round two of the HSBC Sevens World Series last weekend in Dubai.
Asked about whether he was happy with Afrika’s fitness, Treu threw the gauntlet down to the other teams by saying; “Sometimes Cecil at 60% is still better than someone else at 90% ….”
Afrika, the former IRB Sevens Player of the year, is one of three changes to the squad that will play in South Africa’s home tournament in Port Elizabeth. Cheslin Kolbe replaces Kevin Luiters while Bernado Botha will start in place of Steven Hunt. “We took Steven for scans this morning and the results on ankle were not good, so we decided not to risk him and rather play Bernado instead,” said Treu.
The Blitzbokke will be captained by Frankie Horne who will play in his 44th consecutive World Series tournament. Horne will also equal the SA Sevens tournament appearance of Fabian Juries.
Alan Straton
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