Sevens
Five new players for Bok 7s
2008-12-15 17:39
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Garth April (Gallo Images)
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Johannesburg - Five newcomers were added to the Springbok Sevens training squad who assembled in Cape Town on Monday for their week long training camp in preparation for the next two IRB Sevens World Series tournaments.
The Springbok Sevens team won the opening rounds of the Series in Dubai and George and their next assignments are the two tournaments in New Zealand and the United States, to be held on consecutive weekends in February.
Neil Powell, Marius Schoeman and Chase Minnaar were not considered due to injury and the selectors have therefore added the following newcomers to the training squad:
Lionel Mapoe (Free State Cheetahs)
Cecil Afrika (Griffons)
Dumisani Matyeshana (Sharks)
Garth April (Boland)
Jacques Erasmus (Falcons).
Three of the newcomers, Afrika, April and Erasmus all played schoolboy rugby earlier this year.
The squad players underwent recovery testing and also had a gymnasium session shortly after their assembly at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa in Newlands.
On-field training sessions are scheduled from Tuesday until Thursday and the players will round off their week's preparation on Friday morning with another gym session at the University of Stellenbosch.
The South African Sevens squad will assemble again on January 5 where it will be based until its departure to Wellington on January 31 (to be confirmed).
The national Sevens training squad:
Neil Papier, Garth April (Boland)
Sampie Mastriet (Blue Bulls)
Jacques Erasmus (Falcons)
Philip Snyman, Lionel Mapoe (Free State Cheetahs)
Cecil Afrika (Griffons)
Ian Adendorff, Dumisani Matyeshana, Mliwadze Nqoro (Sharks)
Kyle Brown (UCT)
Mpho Mbiyozo, Robert Ebersohn, Frankie Horne, Paul Delport, Mzwandile Stick, Ryno Benjamin, Renfred Dazel, Vuyo Zangqa (SA Rugby contracted players).