Treu sticks with experienced players
Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu added some much needed firepower to his team on Tuesday when he included the experienced trio of Fabian Juries, Mzwandile Stick and Neil Powell in his squad for the season’s last two tournaments in London and Edinburgh.
The tournament at Twickenham on May 22-23 is the penultimate event of the IRB Sevens World Series 2009/10 calendar, while the season finale takes place at Murrayfield a week later on May 29-30.
Juries, Stick and Powell replace JW Jonker and the SA U20-duo of Sampie Mastriet and Branco du Preez, with the latter two due to represent South Africa at the IRB World Junior Championships in June in Argentina. Stick and Powell have both recovered from injuries while Western Province agreed to release Juries.
Although Paul Delport and Renfred Dazel both returned to training recently after suffering long-term injuries, team management decided that they still need to work on their match-fitness.
The return of the three stalwarts gives Treu’s team a more familiar look though, after injuries and several call-ups to Super Rugby meant a number of last season’s Series-winning combination were unavailable for selection.
Despite their inexperience, Mastriet and Du Preez made an immediate impact and they quickly established themselves as key players in a youthful-looking Springbok Sevens outfit.
Treu travels to London on Thursday where he will attend an IRB Sevens Workshop over the weekend. The team will meet up with him in London next Tuesday.
The SA Sevens coach said his team will be aiming to end a disappointing season on a high note.
“I’m delighted to have some of the familiar faces back. I want the team to play better as a unit and to use the possession so much better. If we can achieve that then I’m sure we will progress much further than we have in previous tournaments,” said Treu.
The Springbok Sevens squad for London and Edinburgh is:
Mpho Mbiyozo, Chase Minnaar, Frankie Horne, Cecil Afrika, Neil Powell, Kyle Brown, Fabian Juries, Ryno Benjamin, Chris Dry, Mzwandile Stick, Hoffman Maritz, MJ Mentz.
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