Snyman rotates Blitzbok squad for Vancouver, New York
· Citizen
Springbok Sevens stalwart Impi Visser will captain the Blitzboks on the Sevens North American leg as he closes in on his 50th World Series tournament, with an experienced playmaking trio returning and one potential debutant included in the squad.
Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.
The next two tournaments are on consecutive weekends in Vancouver (7-8 March) and New York (14-15 March).
While the experienced Visser will lead the squad for the final two events of the regular series, where Selvyn Davids, Ronald Brown, and Dewald Human are set to return from injury, there is also a potential debut for Grant de Jager.
De Jager, who hails from Mpumalanga, is set to become another product from HTS Middelburg to play for the Blitzboks, following in the footsteps of Kwagga Smith and JC Pretorius.
Six changes to Blitzbok squad
Blitzbok head coach Philip Snyman made six changes to the squad that returned victorious from Perth at the start of the month. Apart from welcoming back Selvyn Davids, Brown, and Human, Gino Cupido also returns.
Davids and Brown have recovered from injuries sustained in Cape Town in December, Cupido is back after being a late withdrawel from the Singapore/Perth leg, and Human returns to the fray for the first time this season.
Snyman said it was a tough call to make the changes, but that their main objectives – to broaden the playing depth and to have as many fit players as possible for the Sevens World Championship tournaments later in the season – have not changed.
“Players like Zain Davids and Ricardo Duarttee are getting a break on this trip as part of the workload management, while Zander Reynders was not available for selection as he has not fully recovered from a shoulder strain picked up in Perth, and he is replaced by Grant,” said Snyman.
“I am happy to include Grant, he is an extremely talented player who really works hard in the training sessions and he deserves this chance.”
De Jager, who studies B.Sc at Stellenbosch University, earned a Blitzbok contract at the start of the season following a string of strong performances for Maties in the 2025 Varsity Cup. He also played for the Springbok Sevens ‘A’ squad in Mauritius and the Shogun International RFC in Dubai last year.
“Overall, it is an experienced and exciting squad that will travel and knowing that those players staying behind are pushing hard and creating an environment of competitive excellence, is a good place to be at for this group.”
Sevens Vancouver pools:Pool A: South Africa, New Zealand, Spain, Great Britain
Pool B: Fiji, Australia, Argentina, France.
Springbok Sevens squad for Vancouver and New York:#1 Christie Grobbelaar – 26 tournaments, 215 points (43 tries)
#2 Ryan Oosthuizen – 60 tournaments, 260 points (52 tries)
#3 Impi Visser (captain) – 48 tournaments, 230 points (46 tries)
#7 Ronald Brown – 22 tournaments, 453 points (47 tries, 109 conversions)
#8 Selvyn Davids – 44 tournaments, 739 points (97 tries, 127 conversions, 1 penalty goal)
#10 Dewald Human – 31 tournaments, 320 points (30 tries, 85 conversions)
#11 Siviwe Soyizwapi – 62 tournaments, 795 points (159 tries)
#12 Shilton van Wyk – 31 tournaments, 330 points (66 tries)
#15 Donavan Don – 13 tournaments, 113 points (21 tries, 4 conversions)
#16 Sebastiaan Jobb – 6 tournaments, 45 points (9 tries)
#19 David Brits – 13 tournaments, 55 points (11 tries)
#24 Tristan Leyds – 15 tournaments, 170 points (22 tries, 30 conversions)
#28 Grant de Jager – uncapped
#35 Gino Cupido – 1 tournament, 20 points (4 tries)