The Blitzboks face Uruguay, Spain and Argentina in Pool A of the first of three HSBC SVNS World Championship events, to be held at Kai Tak Sports Park.

“The competitive excellence we are striving for is not just a slogan, it is a reality,” said Nortje as the Biltzboks arrived in Hong Kong on Friday after their long-haul travel from Cape Town via Johannesburg.

“A training session at home is as tough as any match we play. Add the heat in Stellenbosch and the fact we have at least 20 guys eager to make the team for the next event, it is really a competitive environment.

“The nice thing about it is that the players really support and push each other and success to the travelling group also means success to those who stay behind, as it means that they also did their job to get the travelling squad match ready and tournament ready. A win for the guys on tour is a win for the guys at home as well.”

Nortje’s return to the squad took longer than expected, as niggles kept interrupting his progress, but the last couple of weeks were free flowing for the former Junior Springbok wing.

“It is great to be part of the playing squad again and going to Hong Kong makes all the hiccups earlier in the year worth it,” the 23-year-old said.

“It remains one of the most sought-after tournaments for us. I have played here twice before and hopefully it will be third time lucky for us when it comes to winning it.”

Nortje said the results in the HSBC SVNS Series, where the Blitzboks won four out of six tournaments, were good rewards for the sweat and efforts by the players, but they start afresh come the World Championship.

There are solid foundations though. Despite starting the previous tournament – the HSBC SVNS New York – without their season leading tackler, Shilton van Wyk, the Blitzboks still topped the defensive stats with no less that four of them topping up the tackle stats in the USA, where no one made more tackles than Ryan Oosthuizen (16), Sebastiaan Jobb (14), Selvyn Davids (12), and Impi Visser (11) on that weekend.

“It shows how the guys worked for each other. It is not above the individual in this Blitzboks team,” Nortje noted.

Selected Blitzbok stats from the HSNC SVNS Series:

Most points:
90 Shilton van Wyk
72 Ricardo Duarttee
61 Ronald Brown

Most tries:
18 Shilton van Wyk
10 Donavan Don
8 Tristan Leyds

Most tackles:
49 Shilton van Wyk
42 Tristan Leyds
38 Ryan Oosthuizen

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The 23-year-old flyer had a frustrating time with injuries this season and missed all six regular stops of the HSBC SVNS Series, but he is now fit and ready and will be an important cog in the Blitzbok attack at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC SVNS Hong Kong, with a strike rate of 32 tries in 12 tournaments.

The inclusion of Nortje, whose last appearance was at the inaugural World Championship tournament in Los Angeles, where the Blitzboks won the title in May 2025, is one of three changes to the squad that completed the series in New York last month with a fourth tournament win out of six played.

Christie Grobbelaar, Dewald Human and Gino Cupido were ruled out after picking up injuries on the North American leg, where they also won in Vancouver, with Zain Davids and Jayden Nell coming in to complete the travelling squad for the tournament at Kai Tak Sports Park, where 12 teams are divided into three pools of four.

Davids was rested for the North American leg and Nell replaced Grobbelaar in before the New York tournament, where he did enough on debut to convince Springbok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman that he can be trusted in the cauldron of Hong Kong, the only venue where the Blitzboks are yet to win a title.

Apart from Nell and David Brits, who will also disembark at Hong Kong International Airport for the first time, the rest of the squad have 38 combined visits to the famous Far East city, and enter the World Championship with good momentum, having won the last three tournaments.

Snyman said they had to go back to zero once they returned and started building momentum towards the three World Championship events, in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux, at their Stellenbosch training base.

“We started over; this is a new challenge and we have some players coming back, so we had to align first and the best way to do that is to start at the basics,” said Snyman.

“We worked hard in training, pushed each other very hard and reminded ourselves of our objectives at the start of this campaign. Doing well in Hong Kong was one of them, so we know what we are training for.

“Nothing has changed from our competitive excellence mindset in camp, so we will again travel with a quiet determination to build this team into one of the best in the world.

“Everyone is working towards that goal, whether he is selected for a particular trip or not. Someone like Quewin worked very hard over a couple of months in that role and now will be ready to contribute as we know he can.”

The squad will depart for Hong Kong on Thursday.

Hong Kong pools (men)
A: South Africa, Argentina, Spain, Uruguay
B: Fiji, France, Great Britain, Germany
C: New Zealand, Australia, Kenya, USA

Blitzbok pool schedule (all matches live on SuperSport, SA times):

Friday, 17 April
05h16: Uruguay
08h49: Spain

Saturday, 18 April
06h13: Argentina

Springbok Sevens squad for Hong Kong:
#2 Ryan Oosthuizen – 62 tournaments, 270 points (54 tries)
#3 Impi Visser (captain) – 50 tournaments, 240 points (48 tries)
#4 Zain Davids – 57 tournaments, 255 points (51 tries)
#7 Ronald Brown – 24 tournaments, 491 points (51 tries, 118 conversions)
#8 Selvyn Davids – 46 tournaments, 766 points (102 tries, 128 conversions, 1 penalty goal)
#11 Siviwe Soyizwapi – 64 tournaments, 800 points (160 tries)
#12 Shilton van Wyk – 32 tournaments, 355 points (71 tries)
#14 Quewin Nortje – 12 tournaments, 160 points (32 tries)
#15 Donavan Don – 14 tournaments, 113 points (21 tries, 4 conversions)
#16 Sebastiaan Jobb – 8 tournaments, 70 points (14 tries)
#19 David Brits – 15 tournaments, 60 points (12 tries)
#24 Tristan Leyds – 17 tournaments, 193 points (25 tries, 34 conversions)
#31 Jayden Nell – 1 tournament, 0 points

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That, of course, is the HSBC SVNS World Championship Series, where the first tournament kicks off in Hong Kong in three weeks.

The South Africans finished in third overall after the events in Nairobi, Montevideo, and Sao Paulo, respectively, which saw them progress to the big dance, although this did not stop them from reflecting on some crucial character tests along the way, particularly in the last two tournaments in South America.

It started with a delayed arrival in Uruguay due to flight challenges and finished with them being able to field only eight available players on Sunday in day two of the Estadio Nicolau Alayon event.

Despite this, the South Africans completed the final event as the team that missed the least number of tackles over the five matches played. They also occupied second place on defence, with a 79% tackle completion rate at the end of the series.

“We had to dig deep, really deep, and the way our players responded was massive,” said Afrika. “They knew that it was up to them to play for the team, and it was great to see how we came back from that to finish strongly by overhauling China to end the series with a win.”

Afrika will be on speed dial with team doctor, Minjon Ras, this week, as the medical assessments on Nadine Roos, Shannon-Leigh Windvogel, Liske Lategan, and Simamkele Namba will determine their availability for Hong Kong.

Amongst those misfortunes, though, the coach was pleased with the performances by debutants, Shanidiné Bezuidenhout and Maceala Samboya, and the reintroduction of Catha Jacobs to the Sevens code.

“Their growth was great to watch,” said Afrika. “All of them have work-ons for sure, but no one just snaps into becoming a Sevens player. It takes time, and you need to learn lessons along the way.

“Catha’s carries were something special, and we’ll work on her conditioning. Maceala is just raw talent, but she quickly got the hang of the defensive line-up and made some massive tackles, while Shanidiné had to step into Nadine’s shoes on day two, and did very well.
“Her basics around the scrum and throwing the ball into the line-out under massive pressure improved a lot, and she came of age against China, not only scoring the try that gave us the lead, but she also chased down a Chinese runner and tackled her when we were in a position to close out the game.”

These are the moments that mould players and teams, and Afrika is confident that they will all improve when they face the top eight teams who recently played in the HSBC SVNS series.

“The SVNS 2 was great and so competitive,” the coach said. “We saw last night that the very last game of the third tournament determined the fourth qualifier to go to the World Champs, and that shows how close all the teams were. There is another step up now, but as we responded every time, I’m confident we’ll do so come the next three events.”

Final HSBC SVNS 2 log standings:

54 Argentina
50 Spain
46 South Africa
42 Brazil
40 Kenya
38 China

Selected SVNS 2 stats

Points scorers:
61 Nadine Roos
40 Maria Tshiremba
30 Ayanda Malinga
26 Byrhandrè Dolf

Try-scorers:
8 Maria Tshiremba
6 Ayanda Malinga
5 Nadine Roos
4 Byrhandrè Dolf, Patience Mokone

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And big smiles on their faces in the third and final event of the series, as they have already guaranteed a ticket to the big dance, the three-tournament HSBC World Rugby Championship.

The also enter this weekend’s action without any travel dramas, having settled in Sao Paulo on Monday – a far cry from the previous week when they only arrived in Montevideo halfway through the week, suffering from long haul jetlag and a different time zone.

That is according to playmaker and pivot Byrhandré Dolf, who is predicting a more fluent start to their tournament than last week against Spain, when the South Africans conceded three tries in seven minutes before they regained composure with two second half tries, which wasn’t enough to prevent a 15-14 defeat.

The Bok Women will again start against Spain and Dolf is confident of getting their weekend going with a solid performance.

“We had much more time to do analysis of last weekend’s games and to iron out small gremlins on the training field, something we certainly did not have time for last week,” she said.

“Each player had a good look at their individual performances and how the team functioned under pressure, and that made it much easier going into this weekend.

“We could also get a good look at our opponents and will be ready for what they bring.”

Dolf said the confirmed World Championship qualification meant a lot to the team: “We are stress-free now; we know where we are heading and that was what we worked for.

“We can also use this weekend to prepare ourselves for the World Championship, where the standards will be higher. Another tournament under the belt also means we will be better as a squad and more cohesive in our performance.”

For her, the motivation this weekend will be play at the standards they know they are capable of. Much of that will come from Dolf’s guidance, especially on attack.

“I am growing as a player and the work-ons will never stop,” said Dolf. “I am looking forward to this weekend as this is another opportunity where we can play as a team, we are stronger together, after all.”

The team’s leading try-scorer, Maria Tshiremba, will not be in action though as she is rested due to a niggle.

Springbok Women’s Sevens squad for Sao Paulo:
#2 Asisipho Plaatjies
#3 Patience Mokone
#9 Nadine Roos (captain)
#10 Byrhandré Dolf
#12 Liske Lategan
#14 Simamkele Namba
#16 Shiniqwa Lamprecht
#19 Shanidiné Bezuidenhout
#20 Catha Jacobs
#23 Ayanda Malinga
#26 Lerato Makua
#27 Maceala Samboya (uncapped)
#28 Shannon-Lee Windvogel

Springbok Women’s Sevens fixtures (SA times, all matches live on SuperSport):

Saturday, 28 March
16h06: Spain
19h18: Kenya
22h49: Brazil

Sunday, 29 March
17h28: Argentina
20h18: China

HSBC SVNS 2 standings:
1 Argentina – 40 points
2 South Africa – 34
3 Spain – 34
4 China – 28
5 Brazil – 22
6 Kenya – 22

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Tshiremba, who has scored 11 tries in the three qualifying events prior to the Brazil finale, in Dubai (HSBC SVNS 3), Nairobi and Montevideo, said the World Championship qualification was a huge relief and something they are very happy about.

“But the work is not done,” she said. “It is our aim to finish SVNS 2 on the strongest possible terms. A win will not only be reward for our hard work, but will also improve our confidence going to Hong Kong.”

The South Africans will be ready to bounce back from last weekend, where they finished on a disappointing note, losing 22-10 to Argentina in their final match.

“Back-to-back tournaments are tough on the body – in fact, it can be brutal,” said Tshiremba, who plays her provincial rugby for the Isuzu Bulls Daisies.

“But we came through Montevideo all right, so I know everyone will be ready to fire again. We only get so many opportunities to play for our country, and we want to make the most of each one.”

The Bok speedster said the match against Argentina last weekend will motivate them: “We did not defend well enough against Argentina. They play a very good offloading game and that created gaps in our defence.

“For us to fix that, we need more dominant tackles and that is something we had worked on this week. But it is not Argentina only, we must make sure we are accurate against all our opponents, each of them deserve our respect and our A-game.”

The 30-year-old’s try-scoring ability has her teammates, opponents and pundits in awe, not to mention the social media highlights videos that were created of some of her five pointers.

“Yes, I am getting more confident the more tries I have scored – I am trusting my ability to beat opponents and how to use my speed effectively,” she said. “But I still need my team mates to create the gaps for me to run into them, so every try is also a testimony of their hard work.”

South Africa face Spain in their opening match again on Saturday, before taking on Kenya and Brazil. On Sunday, they will finish the tournament against Argentina and China.

Springbok Women’s Sevens fixtures:

Saturday, 28 March (SA times, all matches live on SuperSport)
16h06: Spain
19h18: Kenya
22h49: Brazil

Sunday, 29 March
17h28: Argentina
20h18: China

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The SA side won three of five matches and apart from “14 minutes of poor rugby”, Afrika said they were pleased with all the outcomes of the weekend.

“We had two poor halves basically,” said Afrika.

“We started poorly against Spain in the first match on Saturday and finished poorly against Argentina in the last match on Sunday, but in between we really did well.”

The poor start resulted in the Bok Women going down 15-0 against Spain, eventually losing 15-14. Against Argentina, they conceded three second half tries for a 22-10 defeat.

“Those were bad patches of rugby, but I have to look at the rest of the tournament as well and we really played excellent rugby against China, Brazil and Kenya,” said Afrika.

“Especially our defensive effort was massive and that did put teams under huge pressure. I cannot fault the effort from the ladies, who really gave everything they had.”

The team will travel to the final HSBC SVNS 2 tournament in Sao Paulo this weekend knowing they did enough to qualify for the World Championships, but Afrika said there are still a lot of work to do.

“We need to play matches at this level to get use to the intensity and quality as we are also in the process of building depth in our squad,” he said.

“We gave Shanidinè Bezuidenhout the opportunity to debut in this tournament and she did well, while someone like Lerato Makua, who has not played that many tournaments before, really stood out with her effort. She has now matured into a very good international sevens player and that came from being exposed to this level of rugby.”

The team management will have a look at any walking wounded once in Brazil, but Afrika expects a clean bill of health from all his players: “There were no injuries at the end of the tournament, but as it is a back-to-back weekend for everyone, we need to manage that as well.”

Earlier, World Rugby confirmed that Argentina (40 log points) and South Africa (34 log points) are through to the events in Hong Kong (17-19 April), Valladolid (29-31 May) and Bordeaux (5-7 June), with the final HSBC SVNS 2 tournament still to be played.

Spain (34 points) look set to finish third, with China (28 points) and Brazil (22 points) in a race to finish fourth and claim the final qualification berth.

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The Blitzbok coach admitted to an overwhelming feeling of pride and gratitude as his team won the final with a never say die attitude.

“This was special, not because of the execution of play, but the heart and intensity to play for each other that was shown out there,” said Snyman.

“They showed what Springbok Sevens stand for and played for that jersey, and as a coach, you cannot be prouder of such an effort.

“The defensive effort was something else from minute one until the last play. In the final sequence of play, Fiji created an overlap here and there, but the guys never gave up, and they could not get through.

“How some of those players got into some defensive positions to cover, I don’t know. But what I do know is that drive from within to get there. That is what we are about.”

A proud Snyman praised the players for buying into his vision for the squad, which included bringing in new players to build depth: “The senior players bought in and started to contribute, and every new player coming in had the backing of support of the senior guys as well and that made it possible to continue with that plan.

“We are not done yet. We need to keep growing and improving. We will have a rest now but will come back as determined for the three tournaments of the World Championship.”

For Blitzbok captain Impi Visser, finishing the tournament with blood streaming from his face was worth the effort. He said the final was won by determined defence.

“We gave them a bit too much possession, which is what Fiji thrives on, but our defence won the day,” said Visser, who celebrated his 50th world series tournament appearance as well.

“We did not play our best rugby of the tournament in the final, but our defence was outstanding and that secured the win.

“It was the ideal way to celebrate your 50th for sure. To win the tournament and the series and play in your 50th is a nice combination of achievements. It makes the hard work and sacrifices worth it.”

For Selvyn Davids, who was named Player of the Final, the unity of the team effort made the feeling even better.

“We did not always play the perfect game or did what the coaches wanted us to do, but we played for each other, our support system and our country every time we ran onto the field – that was a given,” said Davids.

The final also demanded the very best of each and every one and Davids said the players’ attitude until the final whistle was telling: “We left nothing out there and that is the most satisfying part of this overwhelming feeling of joy and content.

“Words cannot really describe how I feel. To be Player of the Final was because of the team and I could not have done this alone. We really worked hard for this, and it was worth all the effort.”

The Blitzboks return to South Africa knowing that three more tournaments await in the form of the HSBC SVNS World Championship, with stops in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux.

“The season is not over, but we can allow ourselves to enjoy this one and when we come back, we start fresh with the World Championships our focus,” added Davids.

For Siviwe Soyizwapi, this world series victory compared well with the 2016/17 season, when the Blitzboks achieved back-to-back series wins.

“Back then I was just a youngster in the system, learning and doing my best to contribute,” said Soyizwapi. “This time around, after all these years and at my age, this one is perhaps more special. The effort was unreal.”

Soyizwapi is the most capped player in the current squad with 64 world series tournament appearances and had to overcome a string of injuries to make his way back into the team.

“We are blessed with so many tools in this team, we have a group of players that have so many different skill sets and when we use that wisely, we are hard to stop,” he said.

“If you add the care and belief that is in this group to that skill set, it becomes something very special.”

The 33-year-old said the emergence of a number of new players in the group worked wonders for everyone: “Every new player that comes in and contributes makes the system better as it puts pressure on the older players in the team. And that develops a healthy competition in the group and we benefit from it.”

The team will arrive back in Cape Town on Tuesday.

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The USA event will be the final in a series of six and with South Africa and Fiji tied at the top of the log, the world series title is in reach for the Blitzboks.

According to Ronald Brown, the leading points scorer in Vancouver last weekend with 31 points, they will return to ground zero this week as they fine tune their final charge to the series trophy.

“We have a lot to play for so getting back to zero is important,” said the playmaker after a gym following their arrival.

“We will have a target on our backs and we need to make sure we start afresh. We are still chasing that perfect game, and we cannot rest on our laurels.”

Brown attributed the tournament win to a team effort and the depth of experience amongst the playmakers in the squad: “We have big forwards, so keeping them on the front foot is important and that is part of the backs’ role to keep them in the game. That is where we come into play.

“I am also lucky that the guys in my position really push hard to make everyone better. Amongst ourselves we are really competitive and that help to bring out the best in everyone. Guys like Dewald Human, Tristan Leyds and Selvyn Davids often encourage me and that creates a very good enviornment in the team.”

Brown is not shy to make a dart for the line himself as his three tries in Vancouver showed.

“I am a playmaker first and that job is to create opportunities for others, but if the gaps open up at the same time, I am going to play what is in front of me,” he said.

“I do tend to do rush things and go from zero to a hundred, so credit to our flyhalves, Dewald and Tristan, for calming me down and making sure we stay with our game plan.”

Brown, who returned to the side after a shoulder injury in Cape Town in December ruled him out of the Singapore and Perth events, was happy to have bounced back in Vancouver, where he won his very first title on debut in 2021.

“The medical team have really worked wonders back at home, especially Nadia Clenzos, the physiotherapist, and our team doctor Janesh Ganda, who worked tirelessly to get me back on the field again and thanks to them, I was ready to play when called upon.

“To make my return with a win was even more special as I missed out on the final day in Cape Town due to my injury then and I could not really enjoy that victory as much.”

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The utility forward replaces Christie Grobbelaar, who picked up a knee injury in Vancouver last weekend, and was ruled out for selection.

The uncapped Nell, who represented the Springbok Sevens ‘A’ side in the Rugby Africa Cup in Mauritius last year, is in line for a potential Blitzbok debut, just like his fellow ‘A’-side teammate Grant de Jager did in Vancouver.

The 20-year-old Nell, who attended Durbanville High School, also played for the SA ‘A’-side in 2024 and should he make his debut this weekend, he will join Nabo Sokoyi, Luan Giliomee, Renaldo Young and De Jager as new caps in the 2026 series.

Meanwhile, the Blitzboks have been drawn with New Zealand, France, and Australia in Pool A, with Fiji, Argentina, Great Britain, and Spain in Pool B.

The Blitzboks had a close call against both New Zealand and Australia in Vancouver but have built up a lot of momentum and according to Tristan Leyds, everyone is pulling in the same direction.

Leyds, who was named Player of the Final in Vancouver, said the return of some senior players added to the side’s composure.

“We were lacking something at times during the season and those lapses cost us, especially in Singapore, when we basically played against ourselves,” said Leyds.

“The senior guys helped eradicate those. We started slowly, but we continued improving and that final was just a game where everything came together for us.

“Some of them are playing in my position and that added pressure on me to be at my best and I think I responded well, so happy with that outcome too.”

Winning the Player of the Final medal was the first time Leyds had won such an accolade, and the playmaker was pleased with the recognition: “I was doing my job, but it remains pleasing to win that, it was my first one and I will remember it for a long time. It all came together nicely in the end and to be part of making it happen was rewarding.”

Blitzboks pool schedule in New York:

Saturday 14 March (SA times):
17h06: New Zealand
20h02: France
22h58: Australia

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South Africa had to work hard to beat Australia in their semi-final late on Sunday evening (SA time), but a first-half blitzkrieg by the Blitzboks set them on track for a 38-12 victory over Spain the final.

The Blitzboks and Fiji – who lost to Spain in the other semi-final – are both on 86 log points with one tournament left in the regular season, to be played in New York next weekend.

The Fijians still top the log though, as they have a +201 points’ differential, compared to the Blitzboks’ +199, and they are the only two teams that can claim the overall series in the USA.

“We really improved game by game and in the final, the guys were very clinical and delivered one of the best performances I have seen by the Springbok Sevens in a long time,” Snyman said.

“Our search for consistency is very important in our vision to become the best sevens system in the world and that starts at home. We aim to bring consistency into our training sessions as well, because that will flow over to tournaments and I am happy to see that happened here in Vancouver.

“We are not perfect yet, but that is okay. I told the players they should not be scared to make mistakes, as long as it is aggressive mistakes and this weekend, I cannot fault the effort or performance the players put on the field.”

The Blitzbok coach said back-to-back tournament victories was another bonus: “We laid out some aims at the start of the season. We wanted to play in every semi-final and then improve on that by consistently making finals and winning them.

“Going back-to-back this weekend, with six changes to the squad that won in Perth, shows that we are getting there. The depth in the squad is very pleasing.

“The players will enjoy this win, but the job is not done as we are tied with Fiji on 86 points and with the final tournament of the series this coming weekend in New York, we have it all to do.”

Snyman said their ability on defence to create more turnovers proved vital in Vancouver and they will try even harder to get that success rate up more.

“Now it is a matter of recovery, getting back to zero again and start focussing on next weekend. It was a massive two days for us, but we will start all over again for the next one.”

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