International sevens rugby action moves to Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape this week as a host of local and overseas teams arrive in Port Elizabeth ahead of this weekend’s Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament.
Teams already in the city include the star-studded British Army side and the British Samurai International outfit. The army squad features eight Fijian sevens internationals and will be one of the major forces at the event.
International sevens rugby action moves to Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape this week as a host of local and overseas teams arrive in Port Elizabeth ahead of this weekend’s Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament.
Teams already in the city include the star-studded British Army side and the British Samurai International outfit. The army squad features eight Fijian sevens internationals and will be one of the major forces at the event.
The Samurai team also has a number of international invitation players in its ranks. The United States Tigers have arrived with several players who represented the United States in the recent Rugby World Cup.
Top local teams like the current interprovincial sevens tournament champions, the Assupol Blue Bulls, the S.E.P. Capital Lions and the Kempton Barbarians are also in town and looking to keep the local flag flying high.
The Emerging Sevens High Performance Team and the Emerging Sevens SARU Team, coached by Denver Wannies, have already sharpened up in practice sessions against the Eastern Province sevens side and are keen for good performances.
The emerging teams include a number of players in the Springbok training squad like Eastern Province stars Norman Nelson and Deon Booysen and up and coming young players like Boland’s Frankie Horn and Western Province’s Terry Jacobs.
The under 19 competition at the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens promises to produce first class action. The Welsh URDD team, the current Dubai Sevens champions, arrived earlier in the week.
The Welsh outfit is probably the top under 19 sevens side in the world at the moment. They will be up against sides like the Maseno School from Kenya, who were runners-up at the Dubai Sevens the past two years.
Tomorrow will see many other highly rated teams jetting into the city. They include the SA Rugby Legends with rugby greats like Deon Kayser, Robbie Fleck, Neil Penrose, Henry Pedro and Barry Pinnock in its ranks.
The Griquas side, featuring a bunch of provincial sevens players, the Free State Centre of Technology team and all the ladies teams will also be touching down. The ladies tournament will see two Emerging Springbok sides competing against top teams like Eastern Province, who are the current provincial sevens champions.
Tickets for the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens, which runs from tomorrow until Sunday, are available from Computicket.
For more information, visit www.nmbs.co.za