Afrika raring to go for Boks
IRB Sevens Player of the Year Cecil Afrika has been included in the final squad of 12 Springbok Sevens players for the first round of the Sevens World Series at the Gold Coast in Australia this weekend.
Afrika, also the current SARU Sevens Player of the Year, has recovered fully from his broken jaw suffered during pre-season action and will be in action at Skilled Park, the new home of Australian Sevens.
Branco du Preez and William Small-Smith are the two players who missed out on selection for the opening tournament of the 2011/12 Series season, which now consists of nine tournaments following the recent addition of Japan.
“We picked the best available team,” explained SA coach Paul Treu.
“The new seeding and points format will bring a new dimension to how you approach each tournament and teams will simply have to be at their best if they want to stay in the hunt.”
South Africa face hosts Australia, USA and Japan in Pool B of the Gold Coast Sevens, following the pool draw which took place at the beginning of November.
The winners and runners-up from each event will automatically be placed in Pool A and B respectively for the following tournament, before the draw for each pool is made, adding a new element to this Series.
Said Treu of the draw: “The USA is always a difficult customer while Japan is improving all the time. Australia will play with a huge amount of pride because it is their home tournament. New Zealand is always strong while Fiji, Samoa and England are formidable.”
Last season South Africa ended the IRB Sevens Series as the in-form team when they claimed back-to-back Cup victories in Scotland and England, which enabled the team to secure second spot on the overall standings behind champions New Zealand.
Treu has selected a balanced and settled squad for the opening tournament of this season.
Cheetahs centre Robert Ebersohn is back after a two-year absence, while Chase Minnaar and Renfred Dazel have shrugged off their injuries which kept them on the sidelines for most of last season.
Captain Kyle Brown and Frankie Horne form the core of an experienced forward division while Boom Prinsloo will be keen to add to his impressive performances last year.
The last time Treu’s side faced Australia was in the Cup Final in Edinburgh, one of the most pulsating matches of the 2010/11 Series. South Africa came from 7-28 and 19-35 behind to snatch a dramatic 36-35 victory, but Treu believes each match in Pool B will be just as tough as that against the hosts.
The Springbok Sevens squad: Chris Dry, Kyle Brown (captain), Frankie Horne, Boom Prinsloo, Chase Minnaar, Paul Delport, Renfred Dazel, Mark Richards, Steven Hunt, Bernado Botha, Robert Ebersohn, Cecil Afrika.
