Impi Visser is back at the helm of the Blitzboks for the SVNS North American leg and closing in on his 50th World Series tournament.
The next two tournaments are on consecutive weekends in Vancouver (7-8 March) and New York (14-15 March).
While the experienced Visser will lead the squad for the final two events of the regular SVNS series, where Selvyn Davids, Ronald Brown and Dewald Human are set to return from injury, there is also a potential debut for Grant de Jager.
De Jager, who hails from Mpumalanga, is set to become another product from HTS Middelburg to play for the Blitzboks, following in the footsteps of Kwagga Smith and JC Pretorius.
Blitzboks coach Philip Snyman made six changes to the squad that returned victorious from Perth at the start of the month. Apart from welcoming back Selvyn Davids, Brown and Human, Gino Cupido also returns.
Davids and Brown have recovered from injuries sustained in Cape Town in December, Cupido is back after being a late withdrawal from the Singapore-Perth leg, and Human returns to the fray for the first time this season.
Snyman said it was a tough call to make the changes, but that their main objectives – to broaden the playing depth and to have as many fit players as possible for the SVNS World Championship tournaments later in the season – have not changed.
“Players like Zain Davids and Ricardo Duarttee are getting a break on this trip as part of the workload management, while Zander Reynders was not available for selection as he has not fully recovered from a shoulder strain picked up in Perth, and he is replaced by Grant,” said Snyman.
“I am happy to include Grant. He is an extremely talented player who really works hard in the training sessions and he deserves this chance.”
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De Jager, who studies B.Sc at Stellenbosch University, earned a Blitzboks contract at the start of the season following a string of strong performances for Maties in the 2025 Varsity Cup. He also played for the Springbok Sevens A squad in Mauritius and the Shogun International RFC in Dubai last year.
The return of the old firm also adds punch to the squad, said Snyman.
“Selvyn, Ronald and Dewald are senior playmakers in the squad and to have them all back is great, especially as Luan Giliomee is with the Junior Boks in Georgia.”
The Blitzboks coach added that some players were very close to selection.
“Players such as Quewin Nortje and Jaydon Nell missed out as we did not want to bring back too many players back from injury for this trip,” said Snyman, laying out the broader vision which resulted in Nabo Sokoyi and Renaldo Young also missing out this time.
“Overall, it is an experienced and exciting squad that will travel and knowing that those players staying behind are pushing hard and creating an environment of competitive excellence, is a good place to be at for this group.”
Vancouver Sevens pools:
Pool A: South Africa, New Zealand, Spain, Great Britain
Pool B: Fiji, Australia, Argentina, France.
Blitzboks squad (Vancouver and New York) – Christie Grobbelaar, Ryan Oosthuizen, Impi Visser (c), Ronald Brown, Selvyn Davids, Dewald Human, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Shilton van Wyk, Donavan Don, Sebastiaan Jobb, David Brits, Tristan Leyds, Grant de Jager, Gino Cupido.
Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
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