Impi Visser and Zain Davids will co-captain the defending champion Blitzboks in Dubai, with the team including 10 players who have tasted glory at the season-opening leg.
Donovan Don, David Brits and Tristan Leyds are the only first timers to the desert destination, but the rest of the group are familiar with the look and feel of the tournament trophy.
Head coach Philip Snyman said he was very happy with the preparations for the new season and the way the 17 players named in the final Dubai training group responded to the challenge to make the final cut.
“The guys really worked hard and made it difficult for me to select the final group,” he said.
“Players such as Mfundo Ndhlovu and Shaun Williams, who came back from injuries only a week ago, really made it difficult for me and another week of preparation could have changed my mind, but I am happy with the final group, their attitude and the experience in the squad.
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“We have a good core of senior players and some exciting youngsters, who always bring energy to a group, so I am happy with this group. Part of the plan is to introduce new players during the season in order to build depth, something the Springboks are getting right at the moment, and we want to copy that principle.
“Apart from building depth in the squad, we are starting a new season with new goals. We want to take the ball wide a bit more and we are looking to defend better and differently in order to create some turnover opportunities. The aim is to be consistent as well and finish in the top four in every tournament.”
The Blitzboks will face Olympic champions France, Australia and Kenya in their pool, but Snyman is not too fazed about that for now.
“We are only now going into the detail of those matches, the focus in the last couple of weeks was on ourselves and what we want to achieve during the campaign,” he said.
On the good results in Dubai over the last couple of seasons and the expectations it creates, Snyman said: “It is always good to start the season well, but what we saw in the recent past was that our performances took a dip after that.
“We are looking to improve on that and although there will be some building of depth, aim to finish in the top three at the end of the series.”
Full Blitzboks squad:
Christie Grobbelaar – 21 tournaments
Ryan Oosthuizen – 50 tournaments
Impi Visser (co-captain) – 39 tournaments
Zain Davids (co-captain) – 47 tournaments
Ricardo Duarttee – 12 tournaments
Ronald Brown – 17 tournaments
Dewald Human – 26 tournaments
Siviwe Soyizwapi – 53 tournaments
Shilton van Wyk – 20 tournaments
Quewin Nortje – 6 tournaments
Donovan Don – 3 tournaments
David Brits – 3 tournaments
Tristan Leyds – 5 tournaments
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
