South Africa national rugby sevens team
Rugby union sevens team
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The South African national rugby sevens team, commonly known as the Springbok Sevens,[1] competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. Overall, the team has won the World Rugby Sevens Series 4 times, as well as having won 40 tournaments in the series.
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| Nicknames |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem | Springbok | ||
| Union | South African Rugby Union | ||
| Head coach | Philip Snyman | ||
| Captain | Selvyn Davids | ||
| Most caps | Branco du Preez (85) (Most Tournament Caps) | ||
| Top scorer | Cecil Afrika (1,430) | ||
| Top try scorer | Seabelo Senatla (224) | ||
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| Rugby World Cup Sevens | |||
| Appearances | 8 (first in 1993) | ||
| Best result | Runners-up (1997) | ||
History
After readmission to international sport following the ending of the apartheid ban, the team played their first sevens tournament in the 1993 Hong Kong Sevens, and also participated in the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens. They also played in the Hong Kong Sevens for the next two seasons. In 1996, they also took part in the Punta Del Este Sevens in Uruguay and the Dubai Sevens.
They participated in the 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens the following year as well as in 1998, they played three South American tournaments – the Mar Del Plata Sevens in Argentina, the Punta Del Este Sevens and the Viña del Mar Sevens in Chile. 1999 saw them participate in the Mar Del Plata Sevens, the Santiago Sevens in Chile, the Fiji Sevens, the Hong Kong Sevens, the Japan Sevens and the Paris Sevens.
At the end of 1999, the first World Rugby Sevens Series (then the IRB Sevens World Series) started and the team have been participating in that series ever since. In addition to the Sevens Series, they also played in the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the Commonwealth Games, the World Games and, from 2016 onwards, the Olympic Games.
The team's nickname, "Blitzboks", is derived from "blitz" an Afrikaans word meaning lightning, and the derivative of Springbok ("Bok"), the official emblem of the South African rugby team.
Kit
Sponsors on kit
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2004–2011 | Canterbury | SASOL |
| 2011–2014 | Absa | |
| 2014–2016 | Asics | |
| 2016–2018 | Steinhoff | |
| 2018–2022 | Castle Lager | |
| 2022–2023 | WeBuyCars | |
| 2023–2025 | Nike | |
| 2025–Present | FNB |
Tournament history
World Rugby Sevens Series
Series Record
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 1999–00 | 5th |
| 2000–01 | 5th |
| 2001–02 | 2nd |
| 2002–03 | 4th |
| 2003–04 | 5th |
| 2004–05 | 4th |
| 2005–06 | 3rd |
| 2006–07 | 4th |
| 2007–08 | 2nd |
| 2008–09 | 1st |
| 2009–10 | 6th |
| 2010–11 | 2nd |
| 2011–12 | 5th |
| 2012–13 | 2nd |
| 2013–14 | 2nd |
| 2014–15 | 2nd |
| 2015–16 | 2nd |
| 2016–17 | 1st |
| 2017–18 | 1st |
| 2018–19 | 4th |
| 2019–20 | 2nd |
| 2021 | 1st |
| 2021–22 | 2nd |
| 2022–23 | 7th |
| 2023–24 | 7th |
| 2024–25 | 4th |
| 2025–26 | 1st |
| Total | - |
Grand Final Record
Series tournament wins
South Africa won the following tournaments on the Sevens World Series since its inception in 1999–2000:
47 Tournament wins up to 15 March 2026
Quadrennial tournaments
Summer Olympics
| Olympic Games record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | D |
 2016 |
Bronze medal match | 3rd | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
 2020 |
Fifth place match | 5th | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
 2024 |
Bronze medal match | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 0 Titles | 2/2 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 |
| Olympic Games History | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Pool stage | South Africa  24 – 0  Spain | Win |
| South Africa 26 – 0 France | Win | ||
South Africa 5 – 12  Australia | Loss | ||
| Quarterfinals | South Africa 22 – 5 Australia | Win | |
| Semifinals | South Africa 7 – 5  Great Britain | Loss | |
| Bronze Medal Match | South Africa 54 – 14 Japan | Win | |
| 2020 | Pool stage | South Africa 33 – 14  Ireland | Win |
South Africa 14 – 5  Kenya | Win | ||
South Africa 17 – 12  United States | Win | ||
| Quarterfinals | South Africa 14 – 19  Argentina | Loss | |
| 5th Place Semifinals | South Africa 22 – 19 Australia | Win | |
| 5th Place Match | South Africa 28 – 7 United States | Win | |
| 2024 | Pool stage | South Africa 5 – 10 Ireland |
Loss |
South Africa 5 – 17  New Zealand |
Loss | ||
| South Africa 49 – 5 Japan |
Win | ||
| Quarterfinals | South Africa 14 – 7 New Zealand |
Win | |
| Semifinals | South Africa 5 – 19 France |
Loss | |
| Bronze Medal Match | South Africa 26 – 19 Australia |
Win | |
Rugby World Cup Sevens
| World Cup Sevens record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Played | Won | Lost | Drew | |||
 1993 |
Quarterfinals | 5th | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |||
 1997 |
Final | 2nd | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2001 |
Quarterfinals | 5th | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |||
 2005 |
Quarterfinals | 5th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |||
 2009 |
Quarterfinals | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |||
 2013 |
Quarterfinals | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2018 |
Semifinals | 3rd | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2022 |
7th place final | 7th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 Titles | 8/8 | 43 | 32 | 11 | 0 | |||
Commonwealth Games
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World Games
| Tournament | Placing |
|---|---|
| 2005 Duisburg | 2nd (Silver) |
| 2009 Kaohsiung[2] | 3rd (Bronze) |
| 2013 Cali[3] | 1st (Gold) |
Players
Current squad
The following players have been selected to represent South Africa during the 2025–26 SVNS tournaments which began on 29 November 2025.
Note: Caps reflect the total number of Rugby Sevens events competed in as of the 2026 USA Sevens.
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Brits | Forward | 27 April 1997 | 14 | Boland Cavaliers |
| Zain Davids | Forward | 4 May 1997 | 64 | Western Province |
| Christie Grobbelaar | Forward | 25 May 2000 | 30 | Sharks |
| Jayden Nell | Forward | 28 October 2004 | 1 | Unattached }} |
| Ryan Oosthuizen | Forward | 22 May 1995 | 66 | Unattached |
| Zander Reynders | Forward | 19 December 2000 | 11 | Unattached |
| Siviwe Soyizwapi | Forward | 7 December 1992 | 68 | Unattached |
| Impi Visser (c) | Forward | 30 May 1995 | 54 | Unattached |
| Ronald Brown | Back | 2 September 1995 | 25 | Western Province |
| Gino Cupido | Back | 28 September 2005 | 2 | Western Province |
| Selvyn Davids | Back | 26 March 1994 | 51 | Unattached |
| Grant de Jager | Back | 7 September 2004 | 1 | Unattached |
| Donavan Don | Back | 18 February 2002 | 15 | Boland Cavaliers |
| Ricardo Duarttee | Back | 15 March 1998 | 25 | Unattached |
| Luan Giliomee | Back | 7 June 2006 | 2 | Sharks |
| Dewald Human | Back | 19 May 1995 | 34 | Unattached |
| Sebastiaan Jobb | Back | 20 May 1999 | 7 | Unattached |
| Tristan Leyds | Back | 24 May 1997 | 18 | Western Province |
| Quewin Nortje | Back | 14 January 2003 | 14 | Western Province |
| Nabo Sokoyi | Back | 22 May 2002 | 3 | Unattached |
| Shilton van Wyk | Back | 22 December 1999 | 35 | Western Province |
| Renaldo Young | Back | 12 February 1998 | 1 | Boland Cavaliers |
Records and statistics
Previous squads
The previous South African Sevens squads are as follows:
Player records
The following tables show the leading career South Africa players based on statistics from the World Rugby Sevens Series. Players in bold are still active.
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Award winners
The following South Africa Sevens players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2004:[7]
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