Four familiar faces return as Blitzboks chart new course in Hong Kong

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It will be the first challenge for the Blitzboks since the departure of head coach Sandile Ngcobo following a string of disappointing results.

Christie Grobbelaar, Ronald Brown, Dewald Human and Quewin Nortje were all absent on the recent North American leg of the world series, but are back in the Blitzbok mix for the crucial stop in the Far East, where the team will try to arrest their recent slump in form.

Grobbelaar picked up an injury in the season-opener in Dubai last year and has not featured since, while Human is also back for the first time this year after last playing in Cape Town in December. Brown and Nortje were injured in Perth and missed the trip to Canada and the USA.

Two members of the team that played in Los Angeles, David Brits and Rosko Specman, were ruled out after picking up injuries at training recently, while Tristan Leyds and James Murphy miss out on this leg of the world series.

“We’ve decided to select the best possible squad with the most experience for this leg of the world series, but David and Rosko were not considered along with Siviwe Soyizwapi and Masande Mtshali, who are still busy with their recovery and not yet ready to play,” said Snyman.

“It’s great to welcome back Christie, Ronald, Dewald and Quewin though. They bring varying degrees of experience to the team, but all of them have something special in their skill sets and that is what we will need on this trip.

“We are acutely aware that our recent results were not up to scratch, and we owe ourselves and our supporters better performances, which is what we will aim to do in Hong Kong.”

Blitzbok captain Selvyn Davids will run out in his 35th HSBC SVNS tournament, a special milestone celebrated by the team.

The Blitzboks will face Ireland – currently second in the standings after finishing as runners-up in Perth and the USA – Spain and Samoa in Pool C in Hong Kong, where the action will run from 5 to April.

“It’s a tough pool and we will have to be switched on from the get-go,” said Snyman.

“The nature of the world series is that there is no room for error as any team can beat another side on any given day and by now, something everyone is fully aware of by now.

“Our aim will be to get out of our pool and into the quarter-finals, and that is the only thing we are preparing for at the moment.”

Blitzbok squad: Christie Grobbelaar, Ryan Oosthuizen, Impi Visser, Zain Davids, Ronald Brown, Selvyn Davids (captain), Shaun Williams, Dewald Human, Shilton van Wyk, Darren Adonis, Justin Geduld, Quewin Nortje, Katlego Letebele.