Blitzbokke lose Kankowski for Vancouver

Cecil Afrika and Ruhan Nel have recovered from minor niggles to be fit for the Blitzbokke, but Ryan Kankowski has failed to prove his fitness.

Cape Town - Cecil Afrika and Ruhan Nel have recovered from minor niggles to be fit for the Springbok Sevens side for this weekend’s inaugural Vancouver tournament, but Ryan Kankowski has failed to prove his fitness.

Afrika and Nel wasn’t available for the third-place playoff against USA in Las Vegas last weekend after taking knocks in the 14-12 Cup semi-final loss to Australia, which meant that the Blitzboks had just nine players for the USA game.

Rosko Specman was red-carded against Australia and was suspended for the playoff as he had received two yellow cards.

Kankowski missed the Las Vegas event with a calf problem, and was battling a stomach ailment that laid him low.

But the South African Rugby Union said in a statement on Friday afternoon that while Kankowski recovered from his bug, but picked up an ankle injury during practice on Thursday, which will keep him off the field this weekend.

The experienced Chris Dry, who was going to sit out the Vancouver tournament, will now come back into the 12-man squad in place of Kankowski and play his 50th World Sevens Series tournament.

The Blitzboks were knocked out in the Vegas semi-final in controversial fashion after Specman was deemed to have charged Quade Cooper with his shoulder as the Australian went in to score, but TV replays showed that Specman did get his arms around Cooper in the tackle.

But Argentine referee Federico Anselmi didn’t consult the TMO and awarded a penalty try. And just before the final whistle, Specman high-tackled Aussie skipper Ed Jenkins just before the tryline, and it was the same outcome for the South African.

So, Powell is hoping that his players can cut out such mistakes, as they were otherwise consistent in Vegas and would hope to continue in that manner at the 54 500-capacity BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on Saturday and Sunday.

“We actually dominated the Vegas tournament stats-wise. We had one little loss of concentration in that Australia and we lost it. It’s key to play for every single minute, and discipline is going to be key in Vancouver,” Powell said.

“We can’t fault the effort of the guys, and we just lost concentration for four minutes of that Australian game. This will be a difficult tournament for all the teams, and if you don’t get up for every single tournament, you will find yourself in trouble against one of the so-called lesser teams.”

The Blitzboks open their campaign in Pool C against Scotland on Saturday night at 7.30pm SA time, followed by Brazil at 11.06pm and Argentina at 3.16am on Sunday morning. The playoffs will be played late on Sunday night SA time, with the Cup final at 3am on Monday morning.

“If we allow Scotland to play in space, they will run you crazy on that field. We will have to not give away unnecessary ball and close down their space. Brazil beat the SA Academy side in Chile, so they will be tough, and Argentina are always tough,” Powell said.

“The second week is always about getting the balance right between pushing the guys and getting them fresh again for the next tournament. So we can’t push them too hard, but we need to go over certain things on the field. The mental focus will be key this week, to get that up and be ready for every single game. Then I think it can go well.”

The South Africans lost top spot to Fiji, who won the Vegas tournament and are on 91 points, with the Blitzboks five points behind.

Springbok Sevens Squad (tournaments in brackets)

Chris Dry (49), Dylan Sage (4), Tim Agaba (2), Kwagga Smith (20), Bryan Habana (3), Kyle Brown (51, captain), Branco du Preez (42), Rosko Specman (10), Justin Geduld (22), Cecil Afrika (40), Seabelo Senatla (24), Ruhan Nel (7).

ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za

@IndyCapeSport

Independent Media