// Workers AI · dad joke modeDoes South Africa's rugby team have a scrum-ptious offense?
| Nicknames |
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem | Springbok | ||
| Union | South African Rugby Union | ||
| Head coach | Philip Snyman | ||
| Captain | Impi Visser | ||
| Most caps | Branco du Preez (88) (Most Tournament Caps) | ||
| Top scorer | Cecil Afrika (1,430) | ||
| Top try scorer | Seabelo Senatla (224) | ||
| |||
| Rugby World Cup Sevens | |||
| Appearances | 8 (first in 1993) | ||
| Best result | Runners-up (1997) | ||
The South African national rugby sevens team, commonly known as the Springbok Sevens or Blitzboks,[1] 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 5 times, as well as having won 48 tournaments in the series.
History
[edit]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
[edit]Sponsors on kit
[edit]| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1993–1996 | Cotton Traders | Lion Lager |
| 1996–2000 | Nike | No shirt sponsor |
| 2000–2004 | Castle Lager | |
| 2004–2011 | Canterbury | SASOL |
| 2011–2014 | Absa | |
| 2014–2016 | Asics | |
| 2016–2018 | Steinhoff | |
| 2018–2022 | Castle Free | |
| 2022–2023 | WeBuyCars | |
| 2023–2025 | Nike | |
| 2025–Present | FNB |
Tournament history
[edit]World Rugby Sevens Series
[edit]Series Record
[edit]| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 1999–00 | 5th |
| 2000–01 | 5th |
| 2001–02 | 2nd |
| 2002–03 | 4th |
| 2003–04 | 5th |
| 2004–05 | 4th |
| 2005–06 | 3rd |
| 2006–07 | 4th |
| 2007–08 | 2nd |
| 2008–09 | 1st |
| 2009–10 | 6th |
| 2010–11 | 2nd |
| 2011–12 | 5th |
| 2012–13 | 2nd |
| 2013–14 | 2nd |
| 2014–15 | 2nd |
| 2015–16 | 2nd |
| 2016–17 | 1st |
| 2017–18 | 1st |
| 2018–19 | 4th |
| 2019–20 | 2nd |
| 2021 | 1st |
| 2021–22 | 2nd |
| 2022–23 | 7th |
| 2023–24 | 7th |
| 2024–25 | 4th |
| 2025–26 | 1st |
| Champions | 5 |
Grand Final Record
[edit]| Event | Position |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 6th |
| 2025 | 1st |
| 2026 | 1st |
| Champions | 2 |
Series tournament wins
[edit]South Africa won the following tournaments on the Sevens World Series since its inception in 1999–2000:
48 Tournament wins up to 19 April 2026
Quadrennial tournaments
[edit]Summer Olympics
[edit]| Olympic Games record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | D |
| Bronze medal match | 3rd | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| Fifth place match | 5th | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
| Bronze medal match | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 Titles | 3/3 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 |
| Olympic Games History | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Pool stage | South Africa | Win |
| South Africa | Win | ||
| South Africa | Loss | ||
| Quarterfinals | South Africa | Win | |
| Semifinals | South Africa | Loss | |
| Bronze Medal Match | South Africa | Win | |
| 2020 | Pool stage | South Africa | Win |
| South Africa | Win | ||
| South Africa | Win | ||
| Quarterfinals | South Africa | Loss | |
| 5th Place Semifinals | South Africa | Win | |
| 5th Place Match | South Africa | Win | |
| 2024 | Pool stage | South Africa |
Loss |
| South Africa |
Loss | ||
| South Africa |
Win | ||
| Quarterfinals | South Africa |
Win | |
| Semifinals | South Africa |
Loss | |
| Bronze Medal Match | South Africa |
Win | |
Rugby World Cup Sevens
[edit]| World Cup Sevens record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Played | Won | Lost | Drew | |||
| Quarterfinals | 5th | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Final | 2nd | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Quarterfinals | 5th | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Quarterfinals | 5th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Quarterfinals | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Quarterfinals | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Semifinals | 3rd | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 7th place final | 7th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 0 Titles | 8/8 | 43 | 32 | 11 | 0 | |||
Commonwealth Games
[edit]
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World Games
[edit]| Tournament | Placing |
|---|---|
| 2005 Duisburg | 2nd (Silver) |
| 2009 Kaohsiung[2] | 3rd (Bronze) |
| 2013 Cali[3] | 1st (Gold) |
Players
[edit]Current squad
[edit]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 2026 France Sevens.
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Brits | Forward | 28 April 1997 | 16 | Boland Cavaliers |
| Zain Davids | Forward | 4 May 1997 | 66 | Stormers XXIII |
| Christie Grobbelaar | Forward | 25 May 2000 | 30 | Sharks |
| Jayden Nell | Forward | 28 October 2004 | 4 | Unattached |
| Ryan Oosthuizen | Forward | 22 May 1995 | 70 | Unattached |
| Zander Reynders | Forward | 19 December 2000 | 10 | Unattached |
| Siviwe Soyizwapi | Forward | 7 December 1992 | 72 | Unattached |
| Impi Visser (c) | Forward | 30 May 1995 | 58 | Unattached |
| Ronald Brown | Back | 2 September 1995 | 28 | Stormers XXIII |
| Gino Cupido | Back | 28 September 2005 | 4 | Stormers XXIII |
| Selvyn Davids | Back | 26 March 1994 | 56 | Unattached |
| Grant de Jager | Back | 7 September 2004 | 2 | Unattached |
| Donavan Don | Back | 18 February 2002 | 17 | Sharks |
| Ricardo Duarttee | Back | 15 March 1998 | 26 | Unattached |
| Dewald Human | Back | 19 May 1995 | 37 | Unattached |
| Sebastiaan Jobb | Back | 20 May 1999 | 11 | Unattached |
| Tristan Leyds | Back | 24 May 1997 | 22 | Stormers XXIII |
| Quewin Nortje | Back | 14 January 2003 | 17 | Stormers XXIII |
| Nabo Sokoyi | Back | 22 May 2002 | 3 | Unattached |
| Shilton van Wyk | Back | 22 December 1999 | 38 | Stormers XXIII |
| Renaldo Young | Back | 12 February 1998 | 1 | Boland Cavaliers |
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 rugby sevens players. Players in bold are still active.
|
Award winners
[edit]The following South Africa Sevens players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2004:[4]
|
|
|
References
[edit]- ↑ "Springbok Sevens". sarugby.co.za. SA Rugby. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ↑ "World Games Day 2: Fiji cruise to Gold Medal". Ultimate Rugby Sevens. Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ↑ "2013 World Games rugby results". Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ↑ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- WorldRugby profile Archived 2 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine