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.
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| Nickname(s) | Blitzboks, Blitzbokke | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem | Springbok | ||
| Union | South African Rugby Union | ||
| Head coach | Sandile Ngcobo (rugby union) | ||
| Captain | Selvyn Davids | ||
| Top scorer | Cecil Afrika (1,430) | ||
| Top try scorer | Seabelo Senatla (224) | ||
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| Rugby World Cup Sevens | |||
| Appearances | 8 (First in 1993) | ||
| Best result | Runners-up (1997) | ||
History edit
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 edit
Summer Olympics edit
| Olympic Games record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | D |
 2016 | Bronze medal match | 3rd | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
 2020 | Fifth place match | 5th | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 0 Titles | 2/2 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
Rugby World Cup Sevens edit
| World Cup Sevens record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Played | Won | Lost | Drew | |||
 1993 | Quarterfinals | 5th | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |||
 1997 | Final | 2nd | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |||
 2001 | Quarterfinals | 5th | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |||
 2005 | Quarterfinals | 5th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |||
 2009 | Quarterfinals | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |||
 2013 | Quarterfinals | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |||
 2018 | Semifinals | 3rd | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |||
 2022 | 7th place final | 7th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 Titles | 8/8 | 43 | 32 | 11 | 0 | |||
Commonwealth Games edit
| Commonwealth Games record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | D |
 1998 | Quarterfinalists | 5th | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
 2002 | Semifinalists | 3rd | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
 2006 | Plate Finalists | 6th | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
 2010 | Semifinalists | 3rd | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Semifinalists | 4th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 Titles | 40 | 32 | 8 | 0 | |
World Games edit
| Tournament | Placing |
|---|---|
| 2005 Duisburg | 2nd (Silver) |
| 2009 Kaohsiung[1] | 3rd (Bronze) |
| 2013 Cali[2] | 1st (Gold) |
World Rugby Sevens Series edit
Series wins edit
South Africa won the following editions on the Sevens World Series since its inception in 1999–2000:
| Season | Points | Runner-up | Tournament wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | 132 | Fiji (102) | 3 |
| 2016–17 | 192 | England (164) | 5 |
| 2017–18 | 182 | Fiji (180) | 2 |
| 2020–21 | 40 | Great Britain (34) | 2 |
Series tournament wins edit
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)
Current season edit
Players edit
Current squad edit
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.
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zain Davids | Forward | 4 May 1997 | 42 | Unattached |
| Christie Grobbelaar | Forward | 25 May 2000 | 18 | Unattached |
| Kat Letebele | Forward | 18 November 2003 | 2 | Unattached |
| Masande Mtshali | Forward | 10 July 2003 | 7 | Unattached |
| Ryan Oosthuizen | Forward | 22 May 1995 | 45 | Unattached |
| Impi Visser | Forward | 30 May 1995 | 34 | Unattached |
| Ronald Brown | Back | 2 September 1995 | 15 | Unattached |
| Selvyn Davids (c) | Back | 26 March 1994 | 31 | Unattached |
| Justin Geduld | Back | 1 October 1993 | 56 | Unattached |
| Dewald Human | Back | 19 May 1995 | 24 | Unattached |
| Quewin Nortje | Back | 14 January 2003 | 2 | Blue Bulls |
| Rosko Specman | Back | 28 April 1989 | 32 | Griquas |
| Shilton van Wyk | Back | 22 December 1999 | 15 | Unattached |
Records and statistics edit
Previous squads edit
The previous South African Sevens squads are as follows:
Player records edit
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.
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Award winners edit
The following South Africa Sevens players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2004:[6]
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References edit
- ^ "World Games Day 2: Fiji cruise to Gold Medal". Ultimate Rugby Sevens. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ "2013 World Games rugby results". Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ World Rugby website, current as of 15 March 2020
- ^ World Rugby website, current as of 15 March 2020
- ^ World Rugby website, current as of 15 March 2020
- ^ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.