Blitzboks welcome back Spec magic for Paris and London

Blitzbok coach Neil Powell named his strongest squad since the North American leg of the HSBC World Sevens Series’ for the final two tournaments of the season in Paris and London on Friday.

Playmaker Rosko Specman returns after missing the Hong Kong and Singapore tournaments while Academy player Dewald Human will make his SA Sevens debut in Paris.

The Blitzboks go into the final two tournaments with a huge 25-point lead over Fiji at the top of the standings‚ but there will be no complacency from the series pacesetters according to captain Philip Snyman.

• Blitzboks won't be thinking about overall title in Paris“You can’t defend something you don’t have yet.” That’s the mantra the Blitzboks have been living by for the past two weeks as they prepare for their final onslaught on winning the 2016/17 HSBC World Sevens Series title in the coming fortnight. 

“We have not started any of the eight tournaments this year looking at the log and will not do so for Paris either‚” Snyman said.

“Our mind set and attitude have been a simple one this year and we will stick to it‚ as it delivered the results. We have worked hard‚ prepared well and all want to go out there to represent our country and make ourselves and our supporters proud.

• Neil Powell Points the Way ForwardHaving brought a winning culture to the Sevens circuit, the Blitzbok coach now advocates introducing 7s skills in the 15-man code. 

“Boring as it may sound‚ the focus will be nowhere else‚ but our opening game against Scotland. We have been successful when we found early momentum and that will be our objective again.”

Specman and Human come in for Stedman Gans and Zain Davids respectively from the team that played in Singapore last month.

Gans and Davids have been named in the Junior Springboks team that will travel to Georgia later this month to play in World Rugby’s Under-20 World Championship.

It is no coincidence that Specman was involved in all four tournament victories in Dubai‚ Wellington‚ Sydney and Las Vegas‚ where he was named Player of the Final‚ but for Powell‚ is it all about the team effort.

“It is great to have Rosko back – he has been in commanding form all season‚” Powell said.

“Having said that‚ I am actually happier having him back due to his contributions as a team player‚ as that is what we really stand for as a squad. It is all about believing in the system‚ which will then allow the individual to express himself.”

Human‚ who plays as a sweeper‚ has been a regular for the SA Rugby Sevens Academy team in recent tournaments and also played in Super Rugby for the Southern Kings last year.

Powell was pleased for Human as well as Ryan Oosthuizen‚ who has been selected as one of the forwards travelling to Paris after making his debut in Hong Kong as official reserve following an injury to Selvyn Davids.

The former Western Province U-21 midfielder then replaced Davids in the official squad for the Singapore Sevens a week later.

“Dewald has been around for a while now and has delivered solid performances for the Academy side‚ so I am really happy for him. Ryan is a well-grounded individual and also responded well to all the challenges he faced so far‚ so I am confident in having him in the squad‚” said Powell.

“We were looking at giving some youngsters opportunities this season anyway as we need to broaden our base and with Kyle Brown‚ Justin Geduld‚ Stephan Dippenaar‚ Carel du Preez and now Selvyn Davids out injured and Seabelo Senatla and Kwagga Smith on Super Rugby duties‚ it created this opportunity for Dewald and Ryan.”

Snyman will be backed up by the vastly experienced core of Chris Dry (60 tournaments)‚ Branco du Preez (53 tournaments) and Cecil Afrika (51 tournaments).

South Africa will face Scotland‚ Japan and Canada in Pool A. The tournament will be played on 13 and 14 May.

The Springbok Sevens team for Paris (with tournaments and points) is:

1. Chris Dry (60‚ 435) 2. Philip Snyman (45‚ 276‚ captain) 3. Dylan Sage (15‚ 90) 4. Ryan Oosthuizen (2‚ 0) 5. Werner Kok (27‚ 320) 6. Siviwe Soyizwapi (10‚ 140) 7. Branco du Preez (53‚ 1026) 8. Tim Agaba (9‚ 30) 9. Dewald Human (0‚ 0) 10. Cecil Afrika (51‚ 1246) 11. Rosko Specman (19‚ 248) 12. Ruhan Nel (19‚ 172) 13. Sandile Ncgobo (4‚ 20)* *Travelling reserve

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport