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Cape Town - The Springbok Sevens side on Monday called up wing Rosko Specman in place of the injured Justin Geduld for the next leg of the Sevens World Series in Las Vegas.
The three-day USA rugby event kicks off this coming Friday and the Blitzbokke are the defending champions.
Geduld suffered a hamstring injury over the weekend at the Wellington Sevens, where South Africa claimed third spot after a strong finish in their playoff match against Scotland. Specman (Pumas) has one World Series tournament under his belt.
South Africa head the log with 76 points halfway through the nine-tournament World Series and are seven points clear of New Zealand, who moved into second place. The top four sides on the final standings in May will gain automatic entry into the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
Reflecting on their showing in New Zealand, Powell said he and his management team will work hard on the team’s mental preparation during the next few days.
“We were not as sharp and probably not as mentally focussed as we would have liked to be on the first day in Wellington. We did much better on the Saturday and I am glad we finished the tournament with a good win against Scotland in the playoffs (for third place).
“The guys have to work hard in the next few days to build on the momentum we gained against Scotland,” said Powell.
South Africa will face hosts USA, Portugal and Japan in the pool stages of the Las Vegas tournament.
