2024 Rugby Africa Sevens Tournament: SA Forced into Two Injury Changes
The South African A-side in Mauritius had to replace two players for the second leg of the Africa Men’s Sevens tournament this weekend.
Captain James Murphy and Jaden Baron were injured in last weekend’s competition and have been replaced by Ricardo Duarttee and Armand Maritz who have joined the team. Duarttee, a versatile back, returns to a national sevens team for the first time since the HSBC SVNS tournament in Vancouver earlier this year, while Maritz is a former Western Province Under-20 captain and loose-forward.
It will be his first run in a national representative Sevens side.
The SA A-team for the second leg of the Africa Men’s Sevens in Mauritius this weekend –
Jayden Nell, David Brits, Armand Maritz, Joubert Schoeman, Jeffwin Wesso, Ricardo Duarrtee, Kyle Cyster, Rowan Malgas, Mpho Kubheka, Mfundo Ndhlovu, Sebastiaan Jobb, Siyabonga Ndlozi, Ntokozo Makhaza.
Coach Sandile Ngcobo (coach) said they are keen to improve on their third-place finish last weekend. The SA side lost 12-0 to Uganda in the semi-final, but the coach said they want to go all the way this weekend.
"It is great for our system to expose some new players to the international sevens environment," said Ngcobo.
"We are happy to play here, this is a good testing ground for the newcomers to our squad. At the same time, we are assisting in Rugby Africa's vision to grow sevens across the continent, so it is a win-win for us."
Ngcobo said the team will benefit from the time spent together on the training field this week: "We came in a bit cold and on short notice, so things will be a bit smoother this week. The players had one tournament to find their feet and some time to work together as a team. This will help this weekend."
The winner of the 2024 Africa Seven’s tournament will be determined on Saturday, July 6, and Sunday, July 7 at Labourdonnais Sports Grounds in Mauritius. Matches will be available for free live stream and broadcast on the platforms below, kicking off at 9:00 AM (Local Mauritius Time) (08:00 EAT):
LIVE STREAM
SuperSport:https://www.youtube.com/@supersport/streams
LIVE BROADCAST
SuperSport OTT7:Channel 951
MBC 11
MBC HD
Media Contact:
About Rugby Africa:
Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com) is the governing body of rugby in Africa and one of the regional associations under World Rugby. It unites all African countries that play rugby union, rugby sevens, and women’s rugby. Rugby Africa organizes various competitions, including the qualifying tournaments for the Rugby World Cup and the Africa Sevens, a qualifying competition for the Olympic Games. With 39 member unions, Rugby Africa is dedicated to promoting and developing rugby across the continent. World Rugby highlighted Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia as three of the six emerging nations experiencing strong growth in rugby.
