Sevens
Du Preez blow for Blitzbokke
2012-11-28 16:44
Branco du Preez (Gallo Images)
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Cape Town - Springbok Sevens scrumhalf Branco du Preez suffered a
hamstring injury during training on Wednesday and will not play in the
Dubai Sevens, SARU confirmed on Wednesday.
Du Preez, one of the senior players in the squad, will
travel home on Wednesday evening and his replacement, Ruwellyn Isbell, has
already joined the Blitzbokke squad. Isbell travelled to Dubai over the weekend
as part of the SARU Elite Player Development squad.
Isbell made his Springbok Sevens debut recently during round
one of the Sevens World Series at the Gold Coast in Brisbane, Australia.
The Dubai Sevens takes place on Friday and
Saturday in the desert city. South Africa, three-time winners in Dubai, face
tournament champions England, Samoa and Portugal during the pool stages on
Friday.
Meanwhile, coach Paul Treu confirmed that
former IRB Sevens Player of the Year Cecil Africa will join the squad on Monday
in Port Elizabeth. The playmaker did not accompany the squad to Dubai because
of a niggling knee injury.
“Cecil’s recovery is progressing very nicely and he will
undergo another fitness test before the end of the week to ascertain his
readiness. Irrespective of the outcome of the fitness test, he will still join
us in PE next week so that our medical staff can keep an eye on him” explained
Treu.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens will be held on 8 and 9
December at the iconic Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in the Friendly City.