South_Africa_national_rugby_sevens_team

South Africa national rugby sevens team

South Africa national rugby sevens team

Rugby union sevens team


The South African national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. Overall, the team has won the World Rugby Sevens Series 4 times, as well as having won 40 tournaments in the series.

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Emblem ...

History

After readmission to international sport following the ending of the apartheid ban, the team played their first sevens series in the 1993 Hong Kong Sevens, and also participated in the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens. They also played in the Hong Kong Sevens for the next two seasons. In 1996, they also took part in the Punta Del Este Sevens in Uruguay and the Dubai Sevens.

They participated in the 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens the following year as well as in 1998, they played three South American tournaments – the Mar Del Plata Sevens in Argentina, the Punta Del Este Sevens and the Viña del Mar Sevens in Chile. 1999 saw them participate in the Mar Del Plata Sevens, the Santiago Sevens in Chile, the Fiji Sevens, the Hong Kong Sevens, the Japan Sevens and the Paris Sevens.

At the end of 1999, the first World Rugby Sevens Series (then the IRB Sevens World Series) started and the team have been participating in that series ever since. In addition to the Sevens Series, they also played in the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the Commonwealth Games, the World Games and, from 2016 onwards, the Olympic Games.

The team's nickname, "Blitzboks", is derived from "blitz" an Afrikaans word meaning lightning, and the derivative of Springbok ("Bok"), the official emblem of the South African rugby team.

Tournament history

Summer Olympics

More information Olympic Games record, Year ...

Rugby World Cup Sevens

More information World Cup Sevens record, Year ...

Commonwealth Games

More information Commonwealth Games record, Year ...

World Games

More information Tournament, Placing ...

World Rugby Sevens Series

Series wins

South Africa won the following editions on the Sevens World Series since its inception in 1999–2000:

More information Season, Points ...

Series tournament wins

South Africa won the following tournaments on the Sevens World Series since its inception in 1999–2000:

40 Tournament wins (up to 06/12/2022)

More information Season, Tournament ...

Current season

Players

Current squad

The following players have been selected to represent South Africa during the 2023–24 SVNS tournament beginning in December 2023.

Note: Caps reflect the total number of SVNS events competed in as of the 2023 South Africa Sevens.

More information Player, Position ...

Records and statistics

Previous squads

The previous South African Sevens squads are as follows:

Player records

The following tables show the leading career South Africa players based on statistics from the World Rugby Sevens Series. Players in bold are still active.

More information No., Player ...

Award winners

The following South Africa Sevens players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2004:[6]

More information Year, Nominees ...

References

  1. "World Games Day 2: Fiji cruise to Gold Medal". Ultimate Rugby Sevens. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  2. "2013 World Games rugby results". Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  3. "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.

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