Head coach Sandile Ngcobo will not travel with the Blitzboks to Dubai for the SVNS opener due to medical reasons, with assistant Philip Snyman taking over the reins.
Ngcobo injured his Achilles in training last week and needed surgery. While the procedure was successful, he decided not to remain in South Africa after a follow-up meeting with the surgeon on Wednesday.
Snyman will be assisted by SA Rugby’s sevens high-performance manager, Marius Schoeman. Ngcobo will be back at the helm for the Cape Town leg of the series, which is set to kick off on 9-10 December.
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“I have full faith in Philip to guide the team next week,” said Ngcobo.
“He will get good support from the senior players in the squad and with Marius also travelling to Dubai, Philip will also have back-up in the coaching department. I will follow the matches closely and provide post-match support to the coaches.”
“My main aim now is to use the time to recover well and be ready for what promises to be a very exciting home tournament in Cape Town in two weeks’ time.”
Ngcobo will announce the squad for Dubai on Friday.
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