Fiery 'Tank' Horne heads the charge
FIERY Frankie Horne, the man they call the “The Tank” because of his direct style of play, will be at the centre of the Blitz Boks’ charge when they begin their quest to defend their Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens title successfully tomorrow.
The durable Horne was yesterday named in the Blitz Boks team that will be bidding for back-to-back titles after they beat Australia in last week's final in Dubai.
As expected, the Blitz Boks named an unchanged team that will be captained by the inspirational Kyle Brown.
Horne will be competing in his 62nd consecutive World Sevens Series tournament, stretching his own record further in a remarkable sequence of matches for South Africa.
Looking ahead to the weekend's matches Horne said: "In the three years we have played in Port Elizabeth we have reached two finals and won one of those finals. We also had a third place. So Port Elizabeth is a very good hunting ground for us."
At the Blitz Boks team announcement, coach Neil Powell said his team would be taking one game at a time at the two-day tournament.
"We have America, Kenya and Wales in our pool and at every tournament we try to focus on one game at a time.
"All our energy and focus will go into that opening game against America. They have a good coach and they have improved a lot. We expect a very physical battle against them," Powell said.
"After that there is always a good rivalry between us and Kenya because we are both from Africa, and the last one against Wales will also be tough. The last two times they played against us they did really well and they will be tough opponents again."
Powell said his team had put in an amazing performance in Dubai on day two, but there was always room for improvement.
In naming an unchanged squad, Powell said the decision was easy after their success in Dubai.
"The players all deserve to be in the squad after that performance in Dubai. Every World Series tournament is an extremely tough and demanding event. There is no room for complacency."
Skipper Kyle Brown said the team had to let go of what they did last weekend in Dubai and make sure they were back on ground zero in Port Elizabeth.
"We have come together very well over the past couple of months and that is good for moving forward," Powell said.
Missionvale-born player Cecil Afrika is just 11 points behind Blitz Bok legend Fabian Juries, the leading all-time scorer for South Africa in Sevens with a massive 925 points.
If the Blitz Boks reach the final, Afrika will have six matches to improve on his impressive tally of 914 during his impressive World Series career that has won him accolades around the globe.
After clinching fourth place at the Gold Coast in October, the Blitz Boks are now just two points behind Fiji, who lead the standings on 39 points after beating Australia in the Dubai final.
After their opening Pool A game against the US on Saturday, which kicks off at 12.42pm, the Blitz Boks face Kenya (3.58pm) and Wales (7.58pm) on the opening day.
Ticket prices: R30: North and South Stands. R50: East Stand. R200: West (Main) Stand.
Blitz Boks
Ruhan Nel, Philip Snyman, Frankie Horne, Kwagga Smith, Werner Kok, Kyle Brown (captain), Branco du Preez, Rayno Benjamin, Warrick Gelant, Cecil Afrika, Seabelo Senatla, Cheslin Kolbe. - George Byron
