Share

Blitzbokke target fast start

Cape Town - The Springboks Sevens team and their new coach, Neil Powell, will be aiming to start the new Sevens World Series on winning note when the Gold Coast Sevens tournament kicks off early Saturday morning (SA time).

Powell, a former Springbok Sevens captain and World Series winner, succeeds the long serving Paul Treu and is one of nine new coaches at the season-opener in Australia.

South Africa only landed Down Under in the early hours of Friday after weather disrupted their travel, but the team arrived on the Gold Coast with a strong side.

Branco du Preez, Paul Delport and prolific try scorer Seabelo Senatla may all be out injured but veteran Frankie Horne returns after missing the World Cup in Russia. Also, skipper Kyle Brown has had a full pre-season after his action was cut short by an ankle injury last year.

Another forward Chris Dry is one try away from 50 in his international career. The return of several regulars to the squad means that South Africa are one of only two sides at the Gold Coast with no debutants.

The Blitzbokke's opponents in Pool B are England, France and Spain.

UNINTERRUPTED LIVE STREAMING ONLINE

Meanwhile, the International Rugby Board (IRB) has announced that, for the first time, the World Series will be streamed live online.

Uninterrupted action of all nine rounds of the 2013/14 Series will be available to watch on the official website www. irbsevens.com, starting with round one on Australia's Gold Coast on 12-13 October.

The development follows the success of the live streaming from the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 in Moscow, which was viewed by over 260 000 unique users over the three days.

In territories where broadcast agreements are in place geo-blocking may apply, however the live streaming solution means that the popular action will be accessible to Rugby fans in every country in the world, allowing them to both watch and engage with the Series via integrated social media.

The South African pools fixture list (all matches live on SuperSport 1 & SHD):

03:14 v France
06:20 v Spain
11:02 v England

The Springbok Sevens team (World Series tournaments in brackets):

1. Chris Dry (28)
2. Philip Snyman (15)
3. Frankie Horne (50)
4. Jamba Ulengo (6)
5. Cornal Hendricks (16)
6. Kyle Brown (33) captain
7. Sampie Mastriet (2)
8. Stephan Dippenaar (14)
9. Justin Geduld (4)
10. Cecil Afrika (24)
11. Mark Richards (7)
12. Steven Hunt (19)

Coach: Neil Powell
 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1814 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1774 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1082 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 459 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 186 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 252 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE