VC trio set for Kenyan safari
Three Varsity Cup players have been named in the Emerging SA Sevens team for the Kenya Sevens, which takes place in Nairobi from June 4 to 6.
UJ stars Bernado Botha and Earl Lewis (pictured, right) and Maties ace Johann Sadie have all been named in the Emerging SA squad – the entire playing group no doubt eager to add to South Africa’s victory in this competition three years ago.
At the same time, however, the likes of Lewis, Botha and Sadie will also be eyeing the next step – playing for the ‘Blitz Bokke’ on the International Rugby Board’s Sevens World Series circuit.
The Emerging SA Sevens team has long been a breeding ground for Paul Treu’s senior SA Sevens squad, with the likes of Mzwandile Stick, Frankie Horne, Vuyo Zangqa, Norman Nelson and Cecil Afrika all playing for this side before graduating to the IRB Sevens circuit.
Sixteen teams will take part in the annual Kenya Sevens tournament and whilst the Emerging SA Sevens team could rightly consider themselves as favourites, Zimbabwe and Kenya will be fielding their full IRB Sevens Series squads, whilst the likes of Fiji, Samoa and Argentina will also be sending strong representative teams to Nairobi.
“The tournament is known for producing top-quality Sevens and we are looking forward to test our next generation of youngsters against some very experienced teams,” said Emerging Sevens coach Arthur Janson.
“We had two good training camps in Stellenbosch and I am satisfied with our preparations thus far.”
The SA squad will assemble in Stellenbosch on Monday, where they will attend a brief training camp under the watchful eye of Janson before flying out to Kenya next Thursday.
Emerging SA Sevens squad (12): Jacquin Jansen (Boland), Marlon Lewis, Siyanda Grey (Eastern Province), Bernado Botha, Earl Lewis (Golden Lions), Brian Shabangu (KwaZulu-Natal), Deon Scholtz, Jacobus Swanepoel (Leopards), Siviwe Magaba (Pumas), Jacques Engelbrecht (SWD Eagles), Johann Sadie, Jacobus Schabort (Western Province).
