Blitzboks face fifth leg sans key players
Coach Neil Powell says a team effort will ensure the squad’s succeeds
Despite the Blitzboks’ best start to an HSBC World Sevens Series campaign after three wins in four tournaments‚ all is not plain sailing for coach Neil Powell. Over the course of victories in Dubai‚ Wellington and Sydney‚ and a runners-up place in Cape Town‚ the squad has lost key players for various reasons. Bruising forward and experienced veteran Kyle Brown was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Key playmaker Cecil Afrika missed the last two tournaments with a knee injury and had a minor operation. The players have the week off and full medical assessments will be made on Monday, with the fifth leg in Las Vegas about two weeks away. Star back Werner Kok suffered a calf muscle injury on day one in Sydney and was pulled out for the remainder of the tournament‚ but he should be fully recovered by next week. Even without Brown and Afrika‚ the two most experienced campaigners in the Blitzboks squad‚ the team won back-to-back titles in Australasia. However, t...
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