Experienced
playmaker Selvyn Davids from Jeffreys Bay, a small town in the Kouga Municipality, Eastern Cape will lead the Springbok Sevens team for the 2024 HSBC
SVNS series, starting in Dubai next weekend, where he will be joined by two
uncapped players in the first of the eight tournaments of the revamped season.
Davids
will lead an experienced squad to the Emirates Dubai Sevens, while the addition
of newcomers Katlego Letebele and Quewin Nortje, alongside fellow Junior
Springbok teammate, Masande Mtshali, add some youthful exuberance and energy.
With
regular captain, Siviwe Soyizwapi, ruled out for the biggest chunk of the
season due to a knee injury, Davids – who will be playing in his 30th
tournament on the circuit – will provide the necessary leadership and will be
backed up by Zain Davids and Impi Visser, who will share the captaincy when
Selvyn Davids is not on the field.
Springbok
Sevens head coach Sandile Ngcobo explained the decision to hand Davids the
captaincy, while he said the strong leadership group will also be an advantage
to the squad.
“Siviwe
will only return to the circuit in the latter part of the series next year,”
said Ngcobo.
“We
want his focus to be on getting back into his own game and not worry about the
captaincy and the pressure that comes with that.”
“Selvyn
did lead the team in matches last season when Siviwe was not playing, so the
coaching staff and management have full trust in his abilities.”
“We
are lucky to have a strong leadership group around. Justin (Geduld) has over 50
tournaments of experience, Ryan (Oosthuizen) and Zain over 40 and Impi is in
the 30s, so we will have a strong core. The experience of Rosko (Specman) in
this regard will also be very valuable to us.”
Specman
returns to HSBC SVNS having last played in Cape Town in December 2020, and
apart from the two uncapped players, will be the only player not involved in
last year’s series.
Ngcobo
said the inclusion of Letebele and Nortje, who were part of the Junior
Springbok squad that won bronze in the World Rugby u/20 Championship earlier in
the year, was an exciting prospect.
“They
have so much potential and showed a massive learning curve since joining us,” said
Ngcobo.
“Each
brings a good skill set and I firmly believe they will contribute from the
start. They also add a nice balance to the team with their capabilities.”
Ngcobo
added that there is also a need to introduce talented youngsters into the
sevens system.
“By
selecting these younger players, we are creating a step into building the next
generation. The coaches share the view of our high-performance manager, Marius
Schoeman, that this is the best way for the system going forward and it is
great to have that open-mindedness for our needs as coaches,” he said.
Ngcobo
will miss the opening tournament on medical advice and assistant coach, Philip
Snyman will hold the reins in Dubai.
For
Davids, who will become the 22nd captain for the Blitzboks on the HSBC
SVNS stage, the captaincy comes with great pride and responsibility.
“I
was hugely honoured when coach asked me to lead the side,” said Davids.
“The
Blitzboks are a big part of my life and with Siviwe out for such a long time, I
am more than happy and honoured to lead the side. The leadership group
confirmed their backing already, so the next job will be to get ourselves ready
to perform against Samoa in that opener in Dubai.”
The
Springbok Sevens will face Samoa, Canada, and New Zealand in Pool A on the
opening day in Dubai next Saturday, December 2.
The
Springbok Sevens squad for Dubai:
Forwards:
Christie
Grobbelaar – 17 tournaments, 150 points (30 tries)
Ryan
Oosthuizen – 43 tournaments, 200 points (40 tries)
Impi
Visser – 32 tournaments, 155 points (31 tries)
Zain
Davids – 40 tournaments, 185 points (37 tries)
Katlego
Letebele – uncapped
Masande
Mtshali – 5 tournaments, 0 points
Backs:
Ronald
Brown – 13 tournaments, 338 points (34 tries, 84 conversions)
Selvyn
Davids (captain) – 29 tournaments, 586 points (73 tries, 109 conversions, 1
penalty goal)
Dewald
Human – 22 tournaments, 245 points (21 tries, 70 conversions)
Justin
Geduld – 54 tournaments, 1077 points (116 tries, 247 conversions, 1 penalty
goal)
Shilton
van Wyk – 13 tournaments, 135 points (27 tries)
Rosko
Specman – 30 tournaments, 416 points (76 tries, 18 conversions)
Quewin
Nortje – uncapped
