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South Africa coach Paul Treu is looking for the positives ahead of next week’s Commonwealth Games despite a barrage of injury disruptions.

Key men like Frankie Horne, Neil Powell, Kyle Brown, Chris Dry and Branco du Preez will all miss the two day event which starts next Monday (October 11).

Even with such absentee the Boks have an experienced look about their side with campaigners such as Marius Schoeman, Renfred Dazel, Ryno Benjamin, Paul Delport and MJ Mentz all making the trip.

The exciting Cecil Afrika has now established himself as one of the regulars in the team and, with the experience of a full IRB Sevens World Series season behind him.

Treu has also called up several youngsters to fill the many injury-forced gaps and the Commonwealth Games provides him now with the platform to view the performance of the next generation of players in one of the most competitive arenas in the sport.

Despite the many challenges, Treu is approaching the Commonwealth Games with an open mind.

“I would much rather prefer to see the positives the Games can offer us than the downside of things. Renfred Dazel is looking towards a good season after his injury woes last year, while someone like Paul Delport will be eager to make the most of his chances after not making the squad initially.”

“And then of course, we have four youngsters – Lubabalo Mtembu, Sibusiso Sithole, Boom Prinsloo and Bernardo Botha who are all under 21 years of age.

“This is an exciting opportunity for them and I am looking forward to see them in action. We seldom get the chance to be part of such a huge multi-sports event and we are looking forward to embrace the challenge and also to enjoy the occasion,” explained Treu.

The squad will play a few warm-up matches in Dubai against some of the local Arabian Gulf teams before flying out to Delhi on 8 October. On day one of the competition they will face hosts India, Wales and Tonga in pool play. 
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Where will South Africa finish? Check out the UR7s Commonwealth Games Predictions