Blitzboks look to end Hamilton drought this weekend without stalwarts

Siviwe Soyizwapi (centere) of South Africa during the quarter final match between South Africa and Great Britain on day 2 of the HSBC Cape Town Sevens at DHL Stadium on 10 December, 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)

By Keanan Hemmonsbey

19 Jan 2023

The Springbok Sevens have not won a World Series leg in New Zealand since it moved from Wellington to Hamilton in 2018. They have a few tricks up their sleeve this weekend with Jaiden Baron, Selvyn Davids and Shaun Williams all coming into the squad.

The Blitzboks — currently tied first on the Sevens World Series standings with Samoa — face a tough task in Hamilton this weekend.

They will be without Muller du Plessis and JC Pretorius who have left the squad to pursue opportunities in 15s with the Sharks and Lions respectively.

While the most capped Blitzbok, Branco du Preez is unavailable after announcing his retirement from the format after the Cape Town leg of the World Series in December.

Potential debutant Jaiden Baron, Selvyn Davids and Shaun Williams replace the trio in the squad.

Baron is a straight swop for Du Preez and will play in the sweeper position. The 25-year-old has been in outstanding form for Boland in the Currie Cup First Division, where he was named player of the year and was the leading try-scorer in 2022, scoring 12 tries in nine matches.

“We actually scouted Jaiden pre-Covid to join our Academy, but he had a shoulder injury and was out for a year. Then Covid came and stalled everything,” said Springboks Sevens coach Sandile Ngcobo.

Siviwe Soyizwapi of Blitzboks Siviwe Soyizwapi (centere) of South Africa during the quarter final match between South Africa and Great Britain on day 2 of the HSBC Cape Town Sevens at DHL Stadium on 10 December, 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)

“Jaiden played really well for Boland last year and this time around, he could join us. He did very well in training, and we wanted to add more playmaking to our backs, something he can certainly do.

“He is also extremely fast, no wonder he goes by the nickname of “Die Wind” (The Wind) and is not scared to tackle. I am really looking forward to what he will bring,” Ngcobo explained.

Baron has expressed his excitement at touring with the SA Sevens squad for the first time.

“I am very excited to be part of the Blitzboks squad and to be honest, the whole experience must still sink in,” he said.

“I learned a lot at the SA Sevens ‘A’ squad, but this is a big step up for me and I am really looking forward to the experience. Personally, the reality kicked in when we landed in New Zealand.

“Coming from a small village (Port Alfred Hamlet) you can imagine what an opportunity this is for someone like me, and I want to represent my village by giving my absolute best for the team.”

Davids, meanwhile, missed both the Dubai and Cape Town legs due to injury and his return will be much anticipated — as he is the side’s main playmaker.

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“Selvyn is obviously one of the best, but picked up a knee strain after Hong Kong and we wanted to have him fit for the 2023 part of the season, so he did rehab rather than play in Dubai and Cape Town,” said Ngcobo.

Hamilton

New Zealand has not been a particularly happy hunting ground for the Springbok Sevens, having only won two out of the 20 tournaments played in the country.

Those two victories both occurred in Wellington — in 2002 and 2017 — with the tournament moving to Hamilton in 2018.

Two years of Covid-19 meant there were no tournaments in the country in 2021 and 2022. The Blitzboks will be keen to welcome the sport back to the land of the long white cloud with gold medals around their neck.

It won’t be easy with their first day of action taking place very early on the first day (New Zealand time) and their last group match much later in the afternoon.

The Blitzboks and Canada will be the first teams on the pitch at the FMG Stadium for the tournament opener at 09h10 on Saturday morning (Friday 22h10 SA time), before their other pool games against Spain at 12h38 (Saturday 01h38 SA time) and Argentina at 15h44 (Saturday 04h44 SA time).

“When it comes to the game of sevens, whether it’s a morning or afternoon game, you have to be ready 100% of the time,” said Blitzboks skipper Siviwe Soyizwapi.

“It doesn't faze our group when we play, you just have to be ready when you are called upon to wear the jersey.

On his personal role as captain and playing more in the forwards, Soyizwapi said: “I’m always keen to contribute to the team wherever I can — I know it’s never about an individual and always about the team.”

“I’m just excited to keep on growing in my role in the forwards and what is expected of us as a pack, and contribute as much as I can.”

Soyizwapi said the preparation for the Hamilton tournament — the fourth in the World Rugby Sevens Series for 2023 — has been solid enough.

“The first session was designed to have some fun and get the bodies moving again, and the attack session we had was amazing,” he said.

“The boys took the baton on what we did in South Africa and just ran with it here in New Zealand. We take a lot of confidence from our preparation and in that regard it’s been a good week, so we’re excited to see what the weekend brings.

“It’s always tough to start the season in New Zealand first up — the travel is not easy as you have to adapt to the time zone and shake off the jet lag, but we’re happy to have had good preparation and we’re looking forward to the weekend.”

South Africa will open the tournament with a Pool D clash against Canada on Saturday 21 January, before matches against Spain and Argentina later in the day. DM

The Springbok Sevens squad:

Ryan Oosthuizen — 35 tournaments, 169 matches

Impi Visser — 24 tournaments, 124 matches

Zain Davids — 35 tournaments, 176 matches

Selvyn Davids — 28 tournaments, 146 matches

Siviwe Soyizwapi (captain) — 43 tournaments, 227 matches

Christie Grobbelaar — 10 tournaments, 49 matches

Shaun Williams — Seven tournaments, 35 matches

Masande Mtshali — Two tournaments, two matches

Shilton van Wyk — Seven tournaments, 40 matches

Darren Adonis — Nine tournaments, 39 matches

Dalvon Blood — Three tournaments, 16 matches

Jaiden Baron — on debut

Ricardo Duarttee — Two tournaments, 12 matches

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The Springbok Sevens squad: