Soyizwapi, Dry to join Springbok Sevens in London
Soyizwapi replaces Ruhan Nel, who broke his collarbone during their 29-19 Plate semifinal win over New Zealand this past weekend, and Dry comes in for Albertus Smith, who injured his ankle against England in the opening pool match.
Both Soyizwapi and Dry last played at the Singapore Sevens last month and Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell said both players were in contention to play in Paris last weekend, too.
“As I was looking to rotate some players for the last tournament, the guys back home were ready to join at any time, so I am confident that they will fit in right away,” said Powell.
“Chris has played over 50 tournaments and knows our structures very well, while Siviwe did very well in his debut showings in Hong Kong and Singapore.
“We have a tough pool in London and both will see more than enough action.
"This is also an ideal opportunity for them to play themselves into contention for the Olympic Games training squad.”
Powell confirmed neither Frankie Horne or Branco du Preez have been declared fit enough to travel to London and will now most likely play for the squad that will contest the Roma Sevens in June.
“We have one tournament left and with the unpredictability of sevens as it is, will have to be at our best if we want to be successful in London,” Powell said.
The South Africans are grouped with Samoa, who won the Paris Sevens, the USA and Canada in Pool A of the London tournament, which starts Saturday at Twickenham. The Blitzboks are currently second on the overall series log, 14 points behind Fiji.
