A week in Casablanca
The SA Students Sevens team – jam-packed with Varsity Cup stars, and other promising players – left for Morocco earlier this week, where they will be taking part in the Casablanca University Sevens tournament.
The tournament, an initiative from the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR), is endorsed and supported by the International Rugby Board (IRB) to develop the game in the rest of Africa.
Under the coaching of Tukkies’ Freddie Grobler – who has been in charge of this side for some time now – the SA Students can be expected to be real title contenders; especially with the likes of Willem van der Wal (the team’s captain), Earl Lewis and Jonathan Adendorf in the mix.
Van der Wal captained the full SA Students team last year, Lewis (pictured) has trained with Paul Treu’s senior SA Sevens side on numerous occasions and Adendorf has been knocking on the ‘Blitz Boks’ selection door for some time now.
“I love Sevens and it’s a huge honour to play in any representative side for my country,” UJ ace Lewis told varsitycup.co.za.
“I wasn’t overly happy with my Varsity Cup season for UJ, I think I could’ve done better, and a tournament like this – in a team like this – could only serve me well as I look to increase my confidence levels.
“We all know each other well in the squad and we’re looking forward to getting out there and playing… and, of course, trying our best to bring the cup home!”
Coach Grobler, meanwhile, has plenty to look forward to in terms of Sevens action.
After the Casablanca University Sevens, he will take another Sevens squad to France to play in a tournament – in May – before choosing his final squad for the 2010 Students Sevens World Cup in Portugal in July.
“This squad has been picked on Varsity Cup form – I’m very excited about the talent on offer,” Grobler told varsitycup.co.za.
“There is a lot of Sevens rugby ahead of us this season and we’re looking forward to an excellent season – where, hopefully, we can build on our successful 2008 and 2009 seasons,” he added.
“In 2008 we won the Students Sevens World Cup, whilst in last year’s Singapore Sevens we lost to the SA Sevens team and ended third, overall, in a 24-team pool.”
The SA Students Sevens squad:
Willem van der Wal (UJ, captain)
Tythan Adams (Maties)
Jonathan Adendorf (Maties)
Shaun Davids (Tukkies)
Clinton de Klerk (UJ)
Jacobus Erasmus (UJ)
Earl Lewis (UJ)
Justin McKay (UWC)
Cameron Peverett (Maties)
Daniel Poolman (Maties)
Zika Katywa (Fort Hare)
Jamba Ulengo (Shimlas)
The management team:
Coach: Freddie Grobler (Tukkies)
Physiotherapist: Rozanne Schreiber (Maties)
Manager: Bronson Weir (UWC)
