Veteran Ryan Oosthuizen has been ruled out of the Cape Town Sevens, while coach Philip Snyman added four players to the Blitzbok squad for this weekend’s showpiece.
The team assembled in Cape Town on Tuesday without Oosthuizen, who suffered a concussion in Dubai last week. Snyman will on Thursday name a replacement for Oosthuizen, a veteran of 51 series tournaments.
Mfundo Ndhlovu, Gino Cupido, Rowan Malgas and Zander Reynders, all part of the Springbok Sevens ‘A’ squad that won their tournament under the Shogun banner in Dubai last week, have been added to the group.
Having lost an experienced campaigner such as Oosthuizen will add more pressure on the other regulars in the squad, especially as Selvyn Davids and Ronald Brown are still sidelined, but Dewald Human said he will be ready to go again as he did in Dubai.
Human has won eight tournaments around the world representing the Blitzboks, but nothing would please him more than a victory on home soil, something ‘Japie’ feels is possible at Cape Town Stadium.
While the 29-year-old playmaker has played in 27 sevens tournaments in a career full of highlights, a win in the Mother City will be the icing on the cake for Human.
“I know people might look at the Dubai results from last weekend and think we have no chance to win for the first time since 2015, and that is fair,” said Human.
“We did make unforced errors in Dubai, but that was not how it was supposed to happen and something we can rectify.
“For me, the fact that we did not win in Dubai could be a blessing in disguise. For the last five times we came to Cape Town having won in Dubai, and that added to the already big pressure that you find for the hosting nation. The expectations have just become so much over the years.”
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Human has captained the Blitzboks in Hong Kong before and he understands pressure, but this time it is different: “The pressure is not coming with us from Dubai, so we can focus squarely on getting the job done at home.
“We have not used the amazing support we get from this Cape Town crowd to our benefit and will be looking to change that this year.
“In 2019, in my first year playing in Cape Town, we lost to Fiji in the semis and last year we got knocked out in the quarters, but still the crowd stayed on our side.”
“This year, the squad is younger with some rebuilding taking place, but what I can tell all the supporters is that this team has that drive and desire to make everyone proud and to bring honour to the jersey.
“This Blitzbok team will never surrender, there are real fighters in this squad, from coach Philip to the least experienced players. We are all determined to do well this weekend, and I believe it will show.”
The Blitzboks face Ireland and Argentina in their pool and Human feels the new format will create new pressure on every team.
“But unlike the other sides, we have this great crowd to lift us when we are under pressure,” he said.
“We would love nothing more to see people coming out to support us this weekend and if we can reward them with a win, so much the better.”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
