Sweet and sour for Blitzboks

There will be good news for the Springbok Sevens squad when they assemble at their base in Stellenbosch on Wednesday for their final camp in the build-up to the Olympic Games qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe next month, but also some bad news for team and country.

The return of energetic talisman and playmaker Rosko Specman to the group will bring smiles to the faces of coaches and supporters alike, with the one cap Springbok speedster opting to re-start his sevens career on a short-term deal with the Blitzboks.

But while the Blitzboks will again boast a ‘Speckies’ in their ranks, there will not be a ‘Shakes’ as their vastly experienced captain Siviwe Soyizwapi will miss the trip to Zimbabwe and the forthcoming HSBC SVNS series due to a serious knee injury.

Soyizwapi injured his knee in a warm-up match last weekend and has undergone an operation already. The unlucky wing now faces the long road of recovery that will hopefully see him back on the field in nine months’ time.

For Springbok Sevens coach Sandile Ngcobo, the news of Specman’s return was good, but the reality of Soyizwapi’s injury not.

Ngcobo will also have to cut his current training squad to 14 players on Friday, as the fine-tuning for the Rugby Africa Sevens Olympic Qualifier will start in all earnest next week.

“It is really sad for Siviwe, he is such an incredible leader in the team and his record on the world stage speaks for itself,” said Ngcobo.

“There is not much you can do about injuries, as they are part and parcel of rugby and our focus for him will be to make sure his recovery and rehab goes as smoothly as possible.”

The return of Specman comes at an appropriate time in that regard: “Rosko is a senior player and those in the squad have a lot of respect for him and what he can add, so to have him back is great.

“His abilities are well-known, and it is clear from my conversations with him that is he is very keen to contribute to the system again. He brings energy, game-breaking capabilities, and experience to the squad, so we are happy to have him back, especially in light of losing the experience of ‘Shakes’ for the season.”

Ngcobo said the preparations for the Zimbabwe tournament have been going well.

“We worked hard thus far, this is a massive tournament for us and the focus from the players is spot-on,” he said. “It is a nice headache to have now when we need to trim the squad, but it was up to the players to show us why they should be in the final group. We analysed our warm-up games properly and I am happy with the effort from those who will be in the final group.”

The Rugby Africa tournament in Harare will take place on 16 and 17 September.