Blitzboks call up teenage speedster
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Coach Philip Snyman has named Gino Cupido in a depleted Blitzboks squad for next week’s Hong Kong tournament.
Cupido, 19, will make his debut for the Blitzboks after being named in the squad alongside Hong Kong veterans, Dewald Human and Zain Davids, as injuries and rotation influenced the squad as South Africa aim for a first tournament victory at the most iconic sevens tournament.
The trio replace Ronald Brown (injury), David Brits (rotation) and Sebastiaan Jobb, out for two matches due to a red card offence in Vancouver.
Zain Davids returns from injury after he missed last month's trip to Canada, while Human, who captained a youthful side to the 2018 event, where they finished third, takes over from Brown, who replaced him after the Perth tournament.
In 2023, Cupido represented South Africa Sevens at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago, and the SA Under-18 side in the International Series in the Western Cape.
Cupido slots in at centre, his regular position in fifteens. He has represented Western Province at junior and senior level and is in the current Junior Springbok training group.
"The development of our depth remains a core part of our selection policy, while we are also looking at bringing in new energy for each tournament, in this case giving David a break," said Snyman.
"Gino is really talented and has been close to selection a couple of times, and I am really pleased for him. He worked hard over several months now. Dewald comes in for Ronald at flyhalf in a straight swop.
"Zain's return is testimony to our medical staff's ability to rehabilitate players. After Zain's injury in Perth, we were worried about his comeback time, but the hard work by himself and the medical staff reaped rewards for us."
The Blitzboks face Uruguay, Australia and New Zealand in a tough Pool B, but Snyman said the draw had little to do with his final team selection and as usual, they would rather be focusing on their own execution.
"We played both Australia and New Zealand in Vancouver and actually had a training match before the tournament with Uruguay, so the teams will know each other well," said Snyman.
"What we are looking for in Hong Kong is work ethic, clinical execution and a never-say-die attitude on defence. If we manage that, we will come close to our goal of reaching semi-finals again."
The 2025 Hong Kong Sevens will be played from 28-30 March at a new venue, with the tournament moved to the 50,000-seater Kai Tak Stadium, rather than the Hong Kong Stadium in Causeway Bay.
Blitzboks Pool B fixtures:
Friday, 28 March
11.56am: SA vs Uruguay
2.39pm: SA vs Australia
Saturday 29 March
7.43am: SA vs New Zealand
Blitzboks squad: 1 Ryan Oosthuizen, 2 Impi Visser, 3 Zain Davids, 4 Ricardo Duarttee, 5 Selvyn Davids (co-captain), 6 Dewald Human, 7 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 8 Shilton van Wyk, 9 Quewin Nortje, 10 Donavan Don, 11 Gino Cupido, 12 Zander Reynders, 13 Tristan Leyds.
Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
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