Cape Town — Springbok Women’s Sevens coach Paul Delport has opted for co-captains for the Cup Sevens, which takes place from September 9-11 in Cape Town.
The experienced Mathrin Simmers will share the captaincy duties with Sizophila Solontsi, who captained the side at a number of tournaments this season.
The 14-member group will be trimmed down to 12 before the showpiece to meet the 48-hour tournament deadline.
The Springbok Women’s Sevens will open their campaign against France in the second-last game on Friday evening, and Delport said they are out to make the most of this opportunity.
“We are focused internally and want to make sure we play that game with clarity amongst the group,” said Delport.
“You only get to play a Rugby Cup Sevens tournament in your own country once and we hope to make the best of it.”
On his decision of naming co-captains, Delport said: “Home tournaments create a lot of extra pressure on our captains and we want to spread the workload in that regard and also wanted to make sure we have a captain on the field all the time.
“Mathrin and Sizo are both experienced campaigners and leaders and will complement each other in that regard.”
Only Simamkele Namba has not played for the team before, with a number of players who made their debuts in this year’s Series, Commonwealth Games or Challenger Series.
The Springbok Women’s Sevens squad (with RWC & Series stats):
Marlize de Bruin – RWC debut; 1 Series tournament
Kirsten Eastes – RWC debut; 1 Series tournament
Nolwazi Hlabangane – RWC debut; 1 Series tournament
Felicia Jacobs – RWC debut; 1 Series tournament
Lerato Makua – RWC debut; 1 Series tournament
Unathi Mali – RWC debut; 2 Series tournaments
Ayanda Malinga – RWC debut, 1 Series tournament (10 points)
Zintle Mpupha – 2018 RWC; 6 Series tournaments (40 points)
Simamkele Namba – RWC debut
Asisipho Plaatjies – RWC debut; 1 Series tournament
Nadine Roos – 2018 RWC; 5 Series tournaments (79 points)
Mathrin Simmers – 2013, 2018 RWC; 14 Series tournaments (35 points)
Sizophila Solontsi – RWC debut; 2 Series tournaments
Eloise Webb – 2018 RWC; 5 Series tournaments (7 points)
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