Blitzbokke face injury crisis
Springbok Sevens captain, Kyle Brown, is one of several players who might miss the next two Sevens World Series tournaments in Hong Kong and Japan because of injury.
The Blitzbokke skipper is struggling to shrug off a shoulder problem and his troublesome knee is a further cause for concern whilst last week gas-man Mark Richards underwent surgery to repair a torn shoulder muscle and will be on the sidelines for up to two months.
Boom Prinsloo is currently awaiting further results from a specialist after hurting his neck in Las Vegas three weeks ago, while Chris Dry is nursing a knee injury.
On the bright side, utility Cornal Hendricks will most likely recover in time from his shoulder niggle while Pieter Engelbrecht is now finally over his long term ankle problem.
William Small-Smith also re-joined the squad this week after he missed the previous two outings due to SA Under-20 duties. Bok Sevens coach Paul Treu is taking no chances and has already added SA U20 and Shimlas scrumhalf Kevin Luiters to his training group as a precautionary measure.
Engelbrecht, MJ Mentz and Chase Minnaar will accompany the SA Sevens Academy team to an international tournament which takes place this weekend in Zimbabwe.
South Africa are currently third on the World Series log with 74 points, just two points ahead of fourth-placed England. Champions New Zealand lead the standings on 92 points, five clear of Fiji.
The Hong Kong tournament is from 23 to 25 March and the Japan event from 31 March to 1 April.
