Sebastian Jobb Blitzboks

The struggling Blitzboks have been drawn in the Group of Death for the next stop in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Hong Kong. Photo: SA Rugby website

Blitzboks drawn in Group of Death at Hong Kong Sevens: Who they play – and WHEN

The struggling Blitzboks have been drawn in the Group of Death for the next stop in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Hong Kong.

Sebastian Jobb Blitzboks

The struggling Blitzboks have been drawn in the Group of Death for the next stop in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Hong Kong. Photo: SA Rugby website

Fresh off their disappointing outing at the Canada Sevens in Vancouver comes the news that things are unlikely to get much better for the Blitzboks at the next stop in Hong Kong.

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The famed Hong Kong Sevens event will take place between 31 March and 2 April 2023.

It will be the eighth tournament (out of 11) in this season’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

Thanks to their 13th place finish in Canada, the Blitzboks plummeted to seventh place in the standings.

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As a result of the finishing positions in Vancouver, the Blitzboks have been drawn in Pool D that also includes log leaders New Zealand, eighth-placed Ireland and 13th-ranked Kenya.

The Blitzboks’ first match is on Friday against Ireland (09:04 SA time) and on Saturday they face New Zealand (05:04) and Kenya (09:25) in their other pool games.

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Should the Blitzboks manage to finish in the top two in the pool and progress to the Cup quarter-finals, they will face one of the two two finishers from Pool A which includes Argentina, Fiji, Samoa and Canada.

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Springbok Sevens squad (with World Series stats):

Ryan Oosthuizen – 39 tournaments, 188 matches (185 points, 37 tries)
Impi Visser – 28 tournaments, 146 matches (135 points, 27 tries)
Zain Davids – 39 tournaments, 198 matches (180 points, 36 tries)
Siviwe Soyizwapi (captain) – 47 tournaments, 244 matches (735 points, 147 tries)
Mfundo Ndhlovu – 13 tournaments, 60 matches (65 points, 13 tries)
Christie Grobbelaar – 14 tournaments, 71 matches (110 points, 22 tries)
Shaun Williams – 9 tournaments, 46 matches (113 points, 17 tries, 14 conversions)
Travis Ismaiel – 1 tournament, 5 matches (5 points, 1 try)
Ricardo Duarttee – 6 tournaments, 34 matches (156 points, 13 tries, 44 conversions, 1 penalty goal)
Tiaan Pretorius – 3 tournaments, 10 matches (5 points, 1 try)
Ethan James – uncapped
Sebastiaan Jobb – uncapped
Donovan Don – uncapped

Standings:

  1. New Zealand 120
  2. Argentina 108
  3. France 95
  4. Fiji 94
  5. Australia 94
  6. Samoa 89
  7. South Africa 89
  8. Ireland 83
  9. USA 81
  10. Great Britain 57
Shilton van wyk blitzboks
The Blitzboks will leave no stone unturned to get back to winning ways after a disappointing World Rugby Sevens Series North American leg. Photo: SA Rugby website