An unexpected call-up to the Springbok Women’s Sevens training camp in Stellenbosch was not quite the road back to sunshine and South African rugby that Catha Jacobs had in mind, but she took the detour in her stride.
The Springbok Sevens squad arrived in Vancouver from Cape Town on Monday evening after a long haul which included a transit in Amsterdam, but the smile Sebastiaan Jobb entered Canada with was as fresh as the brightest Namaqualand daisy.
He prefers warm weather and the sun, but for Springbok Sevens playmaker Dewald Human, a return to Vancouver is something he is looking forward to as much as he is to be playing with his regular team members in a competitive HSBC SVNS Series.
Springbok Sevens stalwart Impi Visser is back at the helm of the Blitzboks for the HSBC SVNS North American leg, with the regular captain closing in on his 50th world series tournament, while an experienced playmaking trio return with the inclusion of another uncapped player in the squad.
Shannon-Lee Windvogel is in line to make her international debut for the Springbok Women’s Sevens this weekend after the former SWD Eagirls speedster was named in the South African squad for HSBC SVNS 2 in Nairobi, but for the rest, Cecil Afrika has retained the tried and tested core of players.
Ryan Oosthuizen has lifted HSBC SVNS trophies across the globe, but the first one in Australia certainly ranks amongst the best, not because of his Player of the Final performance in Perth, but because the Springbok Sevens held themselves accountable to play according to their standards.
Expect the Springbok Sevens to bounce back to a potential podium finish in Perth this weekend, where the fourth leg of the tightly contested 2026 HSBC SVNS takes place at HBF Park.
The Australian HSBC SVNS stop, and particularly HBF Park in Perth, will always have a special place in the heart of Springbok Sevens flyhalf Tristan Leyds, and come this weekend for the fourth tournament of the 2026 season, it will be no different.
The eight teams contesting the HSBC SVNS series are at it again in Perth on Saturday and Sunday and for the Springbok Sevens team, the weekend can not arrive any sooner.
The format of HSBC SVNS is tough enough, with five tight games between the top eight sides in the world on any given weekend, so the Springbok Sevens are determined to not also “play against themselves” at the HSBC SVNS Perth this weekend.