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South Africa national rugby sevens team

Rugby union sevens team

Rugby union sevens team

FieldValue
NameSouth Africa
BadgeSouth Africa national rugby sevens team.svg
Badge_size206
EmblemSpringbok
UnionSouth African Rugby Union
ConfederationRugby Africa
CoachPhilip Snyman
CaptainSelvyn Davids
Most capsBranco du Preez (85) (Most Tournament Caps)
Top scorerCecil Afrika (1,430)
Top try scorerSeabelo Senatla (224)
World Rugby TrigrammeRSA
pattern_la1_sa25h
pattern_b1_sa25h
pattern_ra1_sa25h
pattern_sh1_sides_on_white
pattern_so1_3_stripes_gold
leftarm1275237
body1275237
rightarm1275237
shorts1FFFFFF
socks1275237
pattern_la2_sa25a
pattern_b2_sa25a
pattern_ra2_sa25a
pattern_sh2_sides_on_green
pattern_so2_3_stripes_green
leftarm2FEFEFE
body2FEFEFE
rightarm2FEFEFE
shorts2275237
socks2FFFFFF
World cup sevens apps8
World cup sevens first1993
World cup sevens bestRunners-up (1997)
Note

the men's team

  • Springbok Sevens
  • Blitzboks
  • Blitzbokke

| World cup sevens apps = 8 | World cup sevens first = 1993 | World cup sevens best = Runners-up (1997)

The South African national rugby sevens team, commonly known as the Springbok Sevens, 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.

History

After readmission to international sport following the ending of the apartheid ban, the team played their first sevens tournament 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.

Kit

Sponsors on kit

PeriodKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
2004–2011CanterburySASOL
2011–2014Absa
2014–2016Asics
2016–2018Steinhoff
2018–2022Castle Lager
2022–2023WeBuyCars
2023–2025Nike
2025–PresentFNB

Tournament history

World Rugby Sevens Series

Main article: South Africa at the World Rugby Sevens Series

Series Record

SeasonPositionTotal-
1999–005th
2000–015th
2001–022nd
2002–034th
2003–045th
2004–054th
2005–063rd
2006–074th
2007–082nd
2008–091st
2009–106th
2010–112nd
2011–125th
2012–132nd
2013–142nd
2014–152nd
2015–162nd
2016–171st
2017–181st
2018–194th
2019–202nd
20211st
2021–222nd
2022–237th
2023–247th
2024–254th

Grand Final Record

EventPositionTotal-
20246th
20251st

Series tournament wins

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

44 Tournament wins up to 8 December 2025

SeasonTournamentFinal opponentScore
2001–022002 Wellington SevensSamoa17–14
2002–032003 Cardiff SevensArgentina35–17
2003–042003 Dubai SevensNew Zealand33–26
2004 Singapore SevensArgentina24–19
2004–052005 London SevensEngland21–12
2005–062006 Paris SevensSamoa33–12
2006–072006 Dubai SevensNew Zealand31–12
2007–082008 Adelaide SevensNew Zealand15–7
2008–092008 Dubai SevensEngland19–12
2008 South Africa SevensNew Zealand12–7
2009 Adelaide SevensKenya26–7
2010–112011 USA SevensFiji24–14
2011 London SevensFiji24–14
2011 Edinburgh SevensAustralia36–35
2012–132013 USA SevensNew Zealand40–21
2013 Japan SevensNew Zealand24–19
2013 Scotland SevensNew Zealand28–21
2013–142013 South Africa SevensNew Zealand17–14
2014 USA SevensNew Zealand14–7
2014–152014 Dubai SevensAustralia33–7
2014 South Africa SevensNew Zealand26–17
2015–162015 South Africa SevensArgentina29–14
2016–172016 Dubai SevensFiji26–14
2017 Wellington SevensFiji26–5
2017 Sydney SevensEngland29–14
2017 USA SevensFiji19–12
2017 Paris SevensScotland15–5
2017–182017 Dubai SevensNew Zealand24–12
2018 Paris SevensEngland24–14
2018–192019 Vancouver SevensFrance21–12
2019 Singapore SevensFiji20–19
2019–202019 Dubai SevensNew Zealand15–0
2020 Los Angeles SevensFijj29–24
(a.e.t.)
20212021 Vancouver SevensKenya
2021 Edmonton SevensGreat Britain24–12
2021–222021 Dubai SevensUnited States of America42–7
2021 Dubai SevensAustralia10–7
2022 Málaga SevensArgentina24–17
2022 Seville SevensAustralia33–7
2022–232022 Dubai SevensIreland21–5
2023–242023 Dubai SevensArgentina12–7
2024–252024 South Africa SevensFrance26–14
2025 USA SevensSpain19–5
2025–262025 South Africa Sevens[[Argentina national rugby sevens team

Quadrennial tournaments

Summer Olympics

Olympic Games recordYearRoundPositionPldWLDTotal0 Titles2/2181260
BRA 2016Bronze medal match3rd6420
JPN 2020Fifth place match5th6510
FRA 2024Bronze medal match3rd6330
Olympic Games History
2016
26 – 0
5 – 12
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Bronze Medal Match
2020
14 – 5
17 – 12
Quarterfinals
5th Place Semifinals
5th Place Match
2024
5 – 17
49 – 5
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Bronze Medal Match

Rugby World Cup Sevens

World Cup Sevens recordYearRoundPositionPlayedWonLostDrewTotal0 Titles8/84332110
SCO 1993Quarterfinals5th8620
Hong Kong 1997Final2nd7610
ARG 2001Quarterfinals5th6510
HKG 2005Quarterfinals5th6420
UAE 2009Quarterfinals5th4310
RUS 2013Quarterfinals5th4310
USA 2018Semifinals3rd4310
RSA 20227th place final7th4220

Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games recordYearRoundPositionPldWLDTotal2 Titles403280
Malaysia 1998Quarterfinalists5th5410
ENG 2002Semifinalists3rd6510
AUS 2006Plate Finalists6th6330
India 2010Semifinalists3rd6510
SCO 2014Champions1st6600
AUS 2018Semifinalists4th5320
ENG 2022Champions1st6600
Commonwealth Games history
1998
1st Phase
2nd Phase
2nd Phase
Quarter-finals
2002
Pool stage
Pool stage
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Bronze Medal Match
2006
Pool stage
Pool stage
Quarter-finals
Plate Semi-finals
Plate Final
2010
Pool stage
Pool stage
Quarter-finals
Semi-Finals
Bronze Medal Match
2014
Pool stage
Pool stage
Quarter-finals
Semi-Finals
Gold Medal Match
2018
Pool stage
Pool stage
Semi-Finals
Bronze Medal Match
2022
Pool Stage
Pool Stage
Quarter-finals
Semi-Finals
Gold Medal Match

World Games

TournamentPlacing
2005 Duisburg2nd (Silver)
2009 Kaohsiung3rd (Bronze)
2013 Cali1st (Gold)

Players

Current squad

The following players have been selected to represent South Africa during the 2025–26 SVNS tournaments which began on 29 November 2025.

Note: Caps reflect the total number of Rugby Sevens events competed in as of the 2025 South Africa Sevens.

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.

No.PlayerTries
1230
2179
3179
4114
5****117
No.PlayerMatches
1397
2373
3347
4345
5344
No.PlayerPoints
11462
21402
31150
41049
5925

Award winners

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

YearNomineesWinners
2014Seabelo Senatla—
2015Ruhan Nel
2021Ronald Brown
2023Ricardo DuartteeRicardo Duarttee
2024Quewin Nortje—
YearNomineesWinners
2006Stefan Basson—
2008Fabian Juries
2009Renfred Dazel
2011Cecil AfrikaCecil Afrika
2014Kyle Brown—
2015Werner KokWerner Kok
Seabelo Senatla
2016Seabelo Senatla (2)Seabelo Senatla
2017Rosko Specman—
YearNo.Player
20241.Selvyn Davids

References

References

  1. "Springbok Sevens". [[SA Rugby]].
  2. "World Games Day 2: Fiji cruise to Gold Medal". Ultimate Rugby Sevens.
  3. "2013 World Games rugby results".
  4. [https://www.world.rugby/sevens-series/stats/mens/alltime/players?metric=tries&team=2416 World Rugby website, current as of 15 March 2020]
  5. [https://www.world.rugby/sevens-series/stats/mens/alltime/players?metric=tries&team=2416 World Rugby website, current as of 15 March 2020]
  6. [https://www.world.rugby/sevens-series/stats/mens/alltime/players?metric=tries&team=2416 World Rugby website, current as of 15 March 2020]
  7. "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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