Springbok Sevens wants to bounce back at Las Vegas HSBC Rugby Sevens
Springbok Sevens wants to bounce back
The return of attacking star Cecil Afrika and veteran Neil Powell will provide a huge boost for the Springbok Sevens team as they continue the quest for their first HSBC Sevens World Series tournament title in Las Vegas. The fourth leg of the World Series event starts on Saturday.
Afrika returns to the squad after missing the Wellington outing with a jaw injury while Powell, a former Springbok Sevens skipper, was selected in an effort to add more experience to a relative youthful looking squad. The pair was called up to replace the injured duo of Paul Delport (hamstring) and Boom Prinsloo (thigh).
Paul Treu, the SA Sevens coach, said the two senior players will not only add more experience to the squad, but also provide him with a few more options.
“It is really great to have the two of them back again. Cecil’s contribution in the first two tournaments in Dubai and George was huge. He forms an integral part of our attacking plan and we really missed him in Wellington. Neil is a very calm personality and his leadership qualities make him a valuable addition to the squad,” explains Treu.
The South African camp will certainly be hoping that Afrika will continue with his excellent form before the jaw injury against Wales forced him to miss the Plate final in George and last week’s New Zealand tournament in Wellington.
Afrika is still topping the point scoring charts despite missing the Wellington leg. The livewire playmaker has scored 127 points to date and he is closely followed by Ben Gollings (England, 121) and Tomasi Cama (New Zealand, 114). Seremia Burotu (Fiji) and Declan O’Donnell (New Zealand) have now joined Afrika at the top of the try scoring table with 17 tries each behind their names.
The new attacking combination of Afrika, Branco du Preez and Paul Jordaan – who celebrated his World Series debut with a brilliant try in the Westpac Stadium – is full of promise and Treu will be hoping that they will be able to provide the spark that will allow his team to bounce back from their below par performance of last week.
The Springbok Sevens team face a tough examination on the first day tomorrow with their clashes in Pool D against hosts, USA, Japan and defending tournament and World Series champions, Samoa.
All matches are live on SuperSport 5 from 19h15 on Saturday.
The Springbok Sevens squad for Las Vegas: Neil Powell, Kyle Brown (captain), Frankie Horne, Chris Dry, Lubabalo Mtembu, Cecil Afrika, Branco du Preez, Renfred Dazel, Pieter Engelbrecht, Bernado Botha, Steven Hunt, Paul Jordaan.
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