Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu has made two changes to the BlitzBokke team who will contest the next two tournaments of the IRB Sevens World Series, the Australian Sevens in Adelaide and the biggest Sevens on the circuit, the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens.

South Africa will defend its Adelaide title in Australia from 19- 21 March, while they will attempt to lift the Hong Kong crown for the first time a week later in the Special Administrative Region of China (SAR).

He drafted Sampie Mastriet (Vodacom Blue Bulls) and Chris Dry (Vodacom Western Province) into the squad in place of veteran Marius Schoeman and Vodacom Cheetahs U21 rookie Phillip van der Walt.

The Springbok Sevens won the Plate Final in the Las Vegas Sevens during their last outing and will be hoping to use that improved performance to string together much better results for the remainder of the World Series season.

South Africa is the defending World Series champions but finds themselves in seventh place after losing three times to Fiji in successive Cup quarterfinals.

The Springbok Sevens have won the previous two tournaments in Adelaide and Treu will be hoping for another good showing from his young team.

“The surface in Adelaide is suiting our style of play and we have done very well there the past three seasons. However, it will not be easy going because New Zealand will be determined to bounce back following their disappointment in Wellington and Las Vegas, while Fiji, Samoa and England are all in very good form at the moment,”said Treu.

The team leaves for Australia on Saturday, 13 March from Cape Town International Airport via Johannesburg.

The Springbok Sevens team to Adelaide and Hong Kong is (SARU contracted unless stated otherwise):

Mpho Mbiyozo,

Chase Minnaar,

Frankie Horne,

Cecil Afrika,

Christopher Dry,

Kyle Brown,

Branco du Preez (Vodacom Blue Bulls),

Ryno Benjamin,

Hoffman Maritz (Vodacom Free State Cheetahs),

Mzwandile Stick,

Sampie Mastriet (Vodacom Blue Bulls) and 

Steven Hunt (Vodacom Western Province).

The Dubai Sevens, starting today in the United Arab Emirates, will be the first major Sevens Rugby event since the sport was included into the family of Olympic sport. 

However, another major Sevens event happens in Hong Kong this weekend.  Rugby Sevens was a late inclusion as a medal-sport onto the program for the East Asian Games that officially starts in the Special Administrative Area (SAR) of China. 

Organisers initially included Sevens as a demonstration sport, but after representation by the Hong Kong RFU, who is carrying the costs for the 2-day event at the Hong Kong Stadium, is was included as a fully-fledged competition.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge is expected to attend a lavish opening ceremony in the city’s Victoria Harbour tomorrow night, where Games organisers have spent HK$40 million on a spectacular lighting and fireworks display.  Rogge will also be on hand at the Hong Kong Stadium on Sunday to present the medals to the winners of the IOC’s newest code, Rugby Sevens. 

IOC President Jacques Rogge at the Beijing Olympics

Hosts Hong Kong, as well as Japan and South-Korea, are favorites for the gold medal.

The BlitzBokke support group on FaceBook has just surpassed the 600-member mark and to celebrate, BlitzBokke.com is giving away 2 sets of DVD’s!

Each set of DVD’s relive all the action of the South African Springbok Sevens Team’s Greatest Sevens Season: The 2008/2009 International Rugby Board Sevens World Series.

The Set includes all 8 rounds of the 2008/2009 Series on 2 DVD’s (PAL or NTSC format).  Total viewing time is approximately 208 minutes and a MUST-HAVE for all Sevens fans.

However, you have to be a member to enter. 

Why are you waiting?

BlitzBokke.com is a website for the fans… by the fans and we are fortunate to have some of the most passionate Springbok Sevens fans in all the cities where the IRB Sevens World Series takes place right here on this website.

Louisa Mills, one of our fans in the desert-city of Dubai, where the Series kicks off in a week’s time, sent us this report that appeared in the local Gulf News on 15 November 2009:

Paul Delport named Springbok Sevens captain

(Delport’s elevation is a natural succession after previously captaining the SA Schools)

Paul Delport was on Friday named as captain of the Springbok Sevens squad for the 2009/2010 IRB Sevens World Series, starting at the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens next month.  Delport’s elevation is a natural succession after previously captaining the SA Schools and national Under-21 and Under-19 teams.

Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu believes that Delport’s appointment as captain for the new season would further strengthen the existing leadership structures within the Sevens squad.

“All the senior and contracted players in the squad fully endorse Paul as their captain for the season,” said Treu.

“We want to create a platform for all our players to excel as leaders. This is part of the legacy we want to build. In the future, there will be new captains and leaders who will take over from Paul, so it’s important to have many leaders in our setup.

“The Vodacom Bulls have proved to be successful thanks to their leaders such as Victor Matfield, Fourie du Preez and Bakkies Botha in their squad.”

Seniors

Players such as Mzwandile Stick, Mpho Mbiyozo and Neil Powell, who have previously captained the SA Sevens side, are all expected to play a huge role as senior players in the side that intends to defend their crown as IRB Sevens World Series Champions.

“Our mentality within the squad is that of a team and not individuals. While Paul has been named captain, our strength will continue to be based on a team effort. That’s what I am expecting,” added Treu.

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If you’re as committed as Louisa and find yourself in any one of the IRB Sevens Series cities, send us your reports, stories, photos, or even clips from your local newspapers and we’ll gladly publish it here on BlitzBokke.com.

The Springbok Sevens Team recently paraded their new playing strip at the Ysterplaat Air Force Base near Cape Town.  If the new promotional video is anything to go by, the choice of venue was no coincidence.  Have a look at the BlitzBokke’s brand-new 2009/2010 campaign video and let us know what you think:

The coach’s own website also spoke to Paul Treu himself, the newly appointed BlitzBok Captain Paul Delport as well as SA Sevens Player of the Year Frankie Horne about their thoughts on the new season.  From the noise in the background (and the coach’s lip-licking!) BlitzBokke.com could see that the interviews were done at the launch, during the luncheon nogal! 

Now, I have seen the coach “in action” at a 2009 HK Sevens press conference buffet line and, given his slight built, if my mother had seen him then, she would have said:“Waa’s die vermox, die man het ‘n wurm!”  (Having said that, in jest of course! the poor woman would surely have given up if she had seen her own son’s performance, never mind his built, so I’m not even going to try to translate that!)  I can confirm, however, that despite his many previous visits to Hong Kong (and recently to Taiwan) the Coach has yet to develop a liking for sashimi!

Yes, even the BALL was a cake!  Hong Kong Sevens, post-press conference.  (Pic: Mike Jansen)

The Coach:

The new Captain:

The SA Sevens Player of the Year:

The South African Rugby Union (SARU) recently announced the teams who will do duty for the Sevens squad in various tournaments during the 2009/2010 Sevens season.

Here at BlitzBokke.com HQ we are very pleased to see that the coach has roped in the services of Vuyo Zangqa, albeit in a different portfolio this time around.  The exciting, fleet-footed player’s playing career was unfortunately cut short after a car accident last year.  Zangqa makes his return to Sevens in a management capacity this season where he was included in the SA Vipers Team who will contest tournaments in Sri Lanka as well as another one in Dubai.  Welcome back Vic!

Vuyo Zangqa (Pic: SARU)

SA Rugby contracted group for 2009/10 (Series tournaments): 

Mpho Mbiyozo (23)

Chase Minnaar (3)

Frankie Horne (16) 

Cecil Afrika (0)

Neil Powell (23)

Kyle Brown (8)

Renfred Dazel (23)

Ryno Benjamin (18)

Paul Delport (10 – captain)

Mzwandile Stick (31)

Marius Schoeman (39)

MJ Mentz (10)

JW Jonker (0)

Shaun Venter (0)

Chris Dry (0)

Jonathan Adendorf (0)

Springbok Sevens team to Dubai and George

Mpho Mbiyozo

Chase Minnaar

Frankie Horne

Cecil Afrika

Neil Powell

Kyle Brown

JW Jonker

Ryno Benjamin

Paul Delport (captain)

Mzwandile Stick

Marius Schoeman

MJ Mentz

Management

Paul Treu (Coach)

Sebastian Prim (Manager/Analyst)

Hugh Everson (Physiotherapist)

Alan Temple-Jones (Biokineticist)

Dr. Ross Tucker (Sports Management Consultant)

SA Vipers team to Sri Lanka and Dubai

1. Chris Dry (Vodacom Free State Cheetahs)

2. Gideon Helberg (Vodacom Blue Bulls)

3. Brian Shabangu (The Sharks)

4. Reg-Hack Muller (Falcons)

5. Renfred Dazel (SA Rugby contracted )

6. Hoffman Maritz (Vodacom Free State Cheetahs)

7. Marlin Ruiters (Vodacom Free State Cheetahs)

8. Divan Ferguson (Xerox Lions)

9. Bernado Botha (Xerox Lions)

10. Shannon Rick (The Sharks)

11. Shaun Venter (SA Rugby contracted)

12. Rosco Speckman (The Sharks)

On stand-by: Kholo Ramashala (Cheetahs)

 Management

Arthur Janson

Vuyo Zangqa

Brent Martin

Here we go again, mense!  The 2009/2010 International Rugby Board’s (IRB) Sevens World Series kicks off in Dubai a little more than a week from now. 

As you are reading this, the BlitzBokke will be firmly tucked into their hotel in the desert city with more than a week to prepare for their title defence.  Have a good look at the Boys during their photo-shoot (see our Flickr album); when they return after Dubai, you’ll probably see a much more tanned outfit after their week in the Arab sun!

www.flickr.com BlitzBokke’s BlitzBokke for 2009/2010photoset

I don’t know if it’s a bad omen, but the Team will be looked after by a new Liaison Officer (LO) this time around, after the long-serving Kim Massouras defected to the English Sevens side!  Jokes aside, cheers for looking after the Boys for the last six years Kim!

Busy Bee.  Kim Massouras on the Team Bus in Dubai (Pic: Kim Massouras)

Meanwhile, coach Paul Treu recently confirmed the names of 16 contracted Springbok Sevens players for the new season and at the same time also named the South African squad for the IRB Sevens World Series opening tournaments in Dubai and George early in December.

JW Jonker, Shaun Venter, Chris Dry and Jonathan Adendorf all showed form during the squad’s pre-season matches and were rewarded with first-time contracts. 

Cecil Afrika has recovered fully from the injuries which prevented him from playing a part in last season’s Series-success, while MJ Mentz makes a welcome return to the squad after a year’s club rugby in Italy. 

The rest of the squad, to be captained by scrumhalf Paul Delport, are all members of the victorious 2008/09 team which won three tournament titles overall. 

Meanwhile, Jonker and Afrika were also included in the team that will defend its tournament titles at the Emirates Airline sponsored Dubai and George events. 

SA Rugby contracted group for the new season is (World Series tournaments): 

Mpho Mbiyozo (23) Chase Minnaar (3) Frankie Horne (16) Cecil Afrika (0) Neil Powell (23) Kyle Brown (8) Renfred Dazel (23) Ryno Benjamin (18) Paul Delport (10 – Captain) Mzwandile Stick (31) Marius Schoeman (39) MJ Mentz (10) JW Jonker (0) Shaun Venter (0) Chris Dry (0) Jonathan Adendorf (0)

Shortly after announcing the names of his charges, coach Paul Treu tasked them to model their exciting new playing strip at the Ysterplaat Air Force Base near Cape Town.  Tank Lanning, in his blog on Sport24, urged the Boys to smile more on their promotional pictures.  Eish, Tank… they are supposed to look WOES!

(Pic: Gallo Images)

BlitzBokke Bo!