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November 23 - As expected, former University of Johannesburg and Hoërskool Florida wing Bernado Botha has been selected in the 12-man squad for the first tournament of the Sevens World Series at the Gold Coast in Australia this weekend.
The hard-running 23-year old Golden Lions and 2010 Lions winger was an instant success for the Blitzbokke when he was first selected for last year’s IRB Series – and with backs of the calibre of Paul Delport, Renfred Dazel, Mark Richards, Steven Hunt, Robert Ebersohn and Cecil Afrika the side of Paul Treu is well-equipped to start their 2011/2012 campaign on winning note. Treu has left out playmaker Branco du Preez and youngster William Small-Smith of the 14 players in Australia for the first tournament which starts on Friday. The 2011/2012 Series now consists of nine tournaments following the recent addition of Japan.
Back in the side after two years are Robert Ebersohn, Cheetahs centre who has been released to the Sevens team, and experienced Renfred Dazel as well as Chase Minnaar, who battled with injuriesthat kept them out of action for most of last year.
"We picked the best available team," explained coach Paul Treu. "The new seeding and points format will bring a new dimension to how you approach each tournament and teams will simply have to be at their best if they want to stay in the hunt.".
South Africa face Pool B matches against hosts Australia, USA and Japan for the Gold Coast Sevens, following the pool draw which took place at the beginning of November.
The winners and runners-up from each event will automatically be placed in Pool A and B respectively for the following tournament, before the draw for each pool is made, adding a new element to this Series.
"The USA is always a difficult customer while Japan is improving all the time. Australia will play with a huge amount of pride because it is their home tournament. New Zealand is always strong while Fiji, Samoa and England are formidable," said Treu.
Last season South Africa ended the Series as the in-form team when they claimed back-to-back Cups in Scotland and England, which enabled the team to secure second spot on the Series standings behind champions New Zealand.
The Springbok Sevens squad: Chris Dry, Kyle Brown (captain), Frankie Horne, Boom Prinsloo, Chase Minnaar, Paul Delport, Renfred Dazel, Mark Richards, Steven Hunt, Bernado Botha, Robert Ebersohn, Cecil Afrika.
The Springboks’ fixtures on day one (to be televised live on SS1 with SA times are):
6.47am: SA vs. USA
9.53am: SA vs. Japan
1.36pm: SA vs. Australia
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