Blitzboks to take experienced squad to Paris Olympics
Six players with previous Olympic Games experience, including 2016 bronze medalist Rosko Specman, have been included in the 14-man Springbok Sevens squad for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Specman, who was capped by the Springboks in 2021, will participate in his second Olympic Games alongside Impi Visser, Zain Davids, Selvyn Davids, Ronald Brown, and Siviwe Soyizwapi, who were part of the squad that placed fifth in 2021 in Tokyo.
Brown and Katlego Letebele were named as travelling reserves in the Paris squad.
They will only be called upon in case one of the 12 players is injured.
Springbok Sevens interim head coach Philip Snyman stuck to the group that won the Olympic repechage tournament in Monaco last month.
That victory secured the last berth on the 12-team roster for Paris.
“I could not fault the effort from the guys that went to Monaco, and it was only fair that they were rewarded for that,” said Snyman.
“The team missed out on qualifying for the Olympics during the normal series and at the African qualifiers, so the guys who did the job in Monaco deserved the opportunity.
“Also, as a team, we played really well and had a good understanding of each other, so it would have been counterproductive to break that by bringing in different players.”
South Africa will face Ireland, New Zealand and Japan in Pool A at the Stade de France in Paris.
Argentina, Australia, Samoa and Kenya will contest Pool B, while in Pool C, hosts France and defending champions Fiji will face USA and Uruguay.
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