Most experienced Blitzbok squad ever named for Dubai 7s

Springbok Sevens coach, Neil Powell, welcomed back Blitzboks regulars Kyle Brown, Kwagga Smith, Justin Geduld and Seabelo Senatla to his squad for the Dubai Sevens, the opening tournament of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, to be played at The Sevens Stadium on 1 and 2 December.

Brown only played in the first two tournaments of the 2016/17 before he picked up a serious knee injury, Geduld missed five tournaments due to a foot injury, and Smith and Senatla missed six each because of Vodacom Super Rugby commitments.

Tim Agaba is the only player in the team who did not travel to Dubai last year, where South Africa’s victory kick-started a wonderful season for the Blitzboks.

The Blitzboks are laden with experience, with the average number of tournaments per player standing at 37, the highest average ever for a Springbok Sevens team in the World Series tournament.

“We are fortunate to be in this situation,” said Powell.

Philip Snyman will again captain the side during the series.

The Springbok Sevens squad for Dubai:

1. Chris Dry (62 tournaments, 298 matches, 455 points, 91 tries)
2. Philip Snyman (captain, 47 tournaments, 207 matches, 296 points, 53 tries)
3. Tim Agaba (10 tournaments, 49 matches, 30 points, six tries)
4. Kwagga Smith (28 tournaments, 135 matches, 275 points, 55 tries)
5. Werner Kok (29 tournaments, 142 matches, 350 points, 70 tries)
6. Kyle Brown (58 tournaments, 285 matches, 395 points, 79 tries)
7. Branco du Preez (55 tournaments, 275 matches, 1049 points, 77 tries)
8. Rosko Specman (21 tournaments, 111 matches, 273 points, 49 tries)
9. Justin Geduld (30 tournaments, 152 matches, 677 points, 75 tries)
10. Cecil Afrika (53 tournaments, 273 matches, 1297 points)
11. Seabelo Senatla (33 tournaments, 167 matches, 945 points, 189 tries)
12. Ruhan Nel (21 tournaments, 104 matches, 182 points, 36 tries)
13. Marco Labuschagne* (1 tournament, 2 matches, 0 points)