The Blitzboks came home from the Rio Olympics with a bronze medal in August, and haven’t played since.
Some of the players may have been moping about missing out on gold, others have played Currie Cup rugby and a few are intending to make the 15-man code their primary focus next year.
But the diehard Springbok Sevens stars have been hard at work over the last few weeks at their Stellenbosch base ahead of the 2016/17 World Series, and will get a chance to stretch their legs in the coastal Namibian city of Swakopmund next weekend in a warm-up tournament featuring Kenya, Germany, Namibia and Zambia, amongst others.
The opening leg of the World Series is in Dubai on December 2-3, followed by the Cape Town Sevens on December 10-11.
Blitzbok coach Neil Powell won’t have his chief attacking force Seabelo Senatla available for the trip to Namibia as the speedster will be in London to attend the World Rugby Awards, where he has been nominated for the Sevens Player of the Year.
But SA Rugby announced on Friday that Powell still hopes to have Kwagga Smith play some part in the warm-up, despite him being part of the Barbarians squad in London at the moment ahead of a three-match series against the Springboks, Czech Republic and Fiji.
If Smith can’t make it, then Stephan Dippenaar will travel to Namibia in his place. “We are hoping that Kwagga can still join us at the tournament, as he is in need of some sevens action,” Powell said.
“It is less than four weeks before the 2016/17 series kickoff in Dubai, so this tournament will be an important warm-up for us. We have not played since the Olympics, and guys such as Werner Kok and Siviwe Soyizwapi have played 15s as well. So it will be a good hit-out for us to get our act together before the opening tournament in Dubai.”
Apart from regulars such as captain Kyle Brown and playmaker Cecil Afrika, a relatively new face is former Western Province Vodacom Cup flank Carel du Preez, who missed out on a chance to challenge for an Olympic spot due to a foot injury.
His presence is part of Powell’s plan to expand the squad this season, with the likes of Smith and Senatla stating that they will also play for the Stormers and Lions in Super Rugby next year.
“We have to freshen up our squad and add to our depth with the next Olympic Games in Japan in mind. But we also will be looking to a strong showing in the series, so will have to plan our season well. We are aiming for the number one spot, but need to keep our long term goals in mind too,” the coach said.
“Ideally we needed at least a dozen of the teams that will play in Dubai to be (in Namibia next weekend), as they will test our defence and attack properly. But I am happy with the kind of opposition we will encounter in Swakopmund. The weather conditions are expected to be pretty hot, which is another good thing for us.”
Springbok Sevens Squad
Tim Agaba, Chris Dry, Kyle Brown, Stephan Dippenaar/Kwagga Smith, Philip Snyman, Carel du Preez, Branco du Preez, Rosko Specman, Justin Geduld, Cecil Afrika, Dylan Sage, Ruhan Nel, Werner Kok, Siviwe Sovizwapi