• • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • Technorati
  • Reddit
  • Stumble Upon
  • Furl

Kyle Brown will captain the Springbok Sevens team announced by the South African Sports Commission and Olympic Confederation (Sascoc) earlier today that will participate at the Commonwealth Games in India in October (11-12).

Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu recently met with representatives from Sascoc to finalise the team that will travel to Delhi for the Sevens competition.

Seven experienced SARU contracted players were named in the final squad of 12. Four players will be making their Sevens debut for South Africa.

The new players in the squad are Free State’s exciting Boom Prinsloo, who shone for Shimlas in this year’s FNB Varsity Cup, Bernardo Botha (Lions) and Lubabalo Mtembu and Sibusiso Sithole (both from The Sharks).

Treu was dealt a blow two weeks ago when forward Frankie Horne was ruled out because of injury.

The experienced Horne, who was named South Africa’s Sevens Player of the Year in 2009, broke a bone in his left hand playing for the winning Samurai International side at Saturday’s Middlesex Sevens.

“With the injury to Frankie Horne, we decided to bring in Boom Prinsloo, who has impressed at our training camp.

The three other new players in the squad can all make it to the top in Sevens and we see this as a superb opportunity to give them necessary experience,” said Treu.

“The core of our squad is very experienced. Kyle Brown, Chase Minnaar, Renfred Dazel, Ryno Benjamin and MJ Mentz were all part of the squad that won the IRB Sevens World Series in 2008/09, while Cecil Afrika, Chris Dry and Branco du Preez all featured for us in the 2009/10 season.

“We are going to India to win gold, but it won’t be easy, as most of the top nations will be there. Our first aim is to finish at the top of our pool and make it into the quarterfinals on the second day.”

South Africa, bronze medallists in 2002, head Pool B in India. Current IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens champions Wales, a resurgent Tonga team and the host nation, India, have been included in this group.

South Africa squad for Commonwealth Games:

Boom Prinsloo (Free State), Chris Dry (SARU contracted), Kyle Brown (SARU contracted), Chase Minnaar (SARU contracted), Lubabalo Mtembu (Sharks), Cecil Africa (SARU contracted), Renfred Dazel (SARU contracted), Branco du Preez (Blue Bulls), Ryno Benjamin (SARU contracted), Sibusiso Sithole (Sharks), Bernardo Botha (Golden Lions), MJ Mentz (SARU contracted).