It might be his first official appearance on the world stage in the 2026 season, but for Springbok Sevens speedster Quewin Nortje, their Stellenbosch training fields are battle grounds of their own and he will be ready come the Cathay Pacific/HSBC SVNS Hong Kong next weekend.
The Blitzboks face Uruguay, Spain and Argentina in Pool A of the first of three HSBC SVNS World Championship events, to be held at Kai Tak Sports Park.
“The competitive excellence we are striving for is not just a slogan, it is a reality,” said Nortje as the Biltzboks arrived in Hong Kong on Friday after their long-haul travel from Cape Town via Johannesburg.
“A training session at home is as tough as any match we play. Add the heat in Stellenbosch and the fact we have at least 20 guys eager to make the team for the next event, it is really a competitive environment.
“The nice thing about it is that the players really support and push each other and success to the travelling group also means success to those who stay behind, as it means that they also did their job to get the travelling squad match ready and tournament ready. A win for the guys on tour is a win for the guys at home as well.”
Nortje’s return to the squad took longer than expected, as niggles kept interrupting his progress, but the last couple of weeks were free flowing for the former Junior Springbok wing.
“It is great to be part of the playing squad again and going to Hong Kong makes all the hiccups earlier in the year worth it,” the 23-year-old said.
“It remains one of the most sought-after tournaments for us. I have played here twice before and hopefully it will be third time lucky for us when it comes to winning it.”
Nortje said the results in the HSBC SVNS Series, where the Blitzboks won four out of six tournaments, were good rewards for the sweat and efforts by the players, but they start afresh come the World Championship.
There are solid foundations though. Despite starting the previous tournament – the HSBC SVNS New York – without their season leading tackler, Shilton van Wyk, the Blitzboks still topped the defensive stats with no less that four of them topping up the tackle stats in the USA, where no one made more tackles than Ryan Oosthuizen (16), Sebastiaan Jobb (14), Selvyn Davids (12), and Impi Visser (11) on that weekend.
“It shows how the guys worked for each other. It is not above the individual in this Blitzboks team,” Nortje noted.
Selected Blitzbok stats from the HSNC SVNS Series:
Most points:
- 90 Shilton van Wyk
- 72 Ricardo Duarttee
- 61 Ronald Brown
Most tries:
- 18 Shilton van Wyk
- 10 Donavan Don
- 8 Tristan Leyds
Most tackles:
- 49 Shilton van Wyk
- 42 Tristan Leyds
- 38 Ryan Oosthuizen
Evil Smith
The oldest cricketer to play the game is England’s Wilfred Rhodes while the oldest living Test cricketer is South Africa’s John Watkins. Rhodes was 52 years old while Watkins (born 1923) is in his late 90s. Rhodes also holds a distinction in first class cricket, taking down over 4,000 wickets.
Shimmy Shammy
Sport Trivia: Graeme Pollock is considered to be one of the greatest batsmen of all-time. What was his test batting average when he retired?Answer: 60.97. He made his Test debut at the age of 19, and in just 41 tests he scored 2484 runs at an average of 60.97, with five centuries and 15 fifties. He also captured 47 wickets at an average 39.55 runs per wicket. Sadly, his test career was cut short when, at the age of twenty six, an international sporting ban was imposed on South Africa as a result of Apartheid. He was arguably the greatest left-handed batsman the world has yet seen.