Snyman rewards Monaco heroes as Blitzboks name Paris 2024 Olympic squad

Specman joins Impi Visser, Zain Davids, Selvyn Davids, Ronald Brown, and Siviwe Soyizwapi as members of the squad that placed fifth in Tokyo in 2021.

Brown and Katlego Letebele were named as traveling reserves in the Paris squad and will only be called upon in case of injury to one of the 12 players allowed for the squad and residence in the Olympic village.

Springbok Sevens interim head coach Philip Snyman stuck to the group that won the Olympic repechage tournament in Monaco last month. That victory secured the last berth on the 12-team roster for Paris.

"I could not fault the effort from the guys that went to Monaco, and it was only fair that they were rewarded for that," said Snyman. "The team missed out on qualifying for the Olympics during the normal series and at the African qualifiers, so the guys who did the job in Monaco deserved the opportunity.

"Also, as a team we played really well and with a good understanding of each other, so it would have been counterproductive to break that by bringing in different players. I opted for the same guys that played in Monaco as well as Ronald, who was due to travel but picked up a late injury, and Katlego, who played in all our tournaments in the regular season apart from Madrid, when we rested some key players."

South Africa will face Ireland, New Zealand, and Japan in Pool A at the Stade de France in Paris. Argentina, Australia, Samoa, and Kenya will contest Pool B, while in Pool C, hosts France and defending champions Fiji will face USA and Uruguay.

Blitzbok squad for 2024 Olympic Games: Christie Grobbelaar, Ryan Oosthuizen, Impi Visser, Zain Davids, Quewin Nortje, Tiaan Pretorius, Shaun Williams, Selvyn Davids (captain), Tristan Leyds, Rosko Specman, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Shilton van Wyk, Ronald Brown (travelling reserve), Katlego Letebele (travelling reserve).

Blitzboks' pool schedule (SA times)

Wednesday 24 July

17h30: Ireland

21h30: New Zealand

Thursday 25 July

16h00: Japan

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