Rugby
Visser celebrating 50 caps at New York 7s─── ILSE SMALBERGER 09:21 Sat, 14 Mar 2026
The Blitzbok captain Impi Visser will play in his 50th world series event this weekend at the New York 7sand will become the 12th Springbok Sevens player to reach this milestone.
The Springbok Sevens squad will play New Zealand (17:06), France (20:02) and Australia (22:58) on Saturday on the first day of the tournament. Visser said there are higher stakes at play this weekend than his 50th cap.
“Some great names in our game have achieved this, so to emulate that is special. Also, as you never know what the future holds, I treasure every time I wear the jersey. I hope to still be around for the next Olympic Games, but that is not in my hands.”
New York 7s. Photo: X/Springbok Sevens
What is in their hands, Visser admits, is the drive and execution to win the first HSBC SVNS New York tournament and, in doing so, claim the overall title. The Blitzboks won the World Championship in Los Angeles last year.
The squad made it an objective at the start of their 2026 HSBC SVNS Series to finish in the top four in each of the six tournaments, win tournaments, and ultimately claim honours as series champions.
At present, they are tied at the top of the standings with Fiji, and whoever does best at the Sports Illustrated Stadium this weekend will lay claim to the title.
“We wanted to be in this position when we came together as a group, and now we are, so the final hurdle is ours to conquer,” said Visser.
The Springbok Sevens squad for the New York tournament:
#2 Ryan Oosthuizen – 61 tournaments, 270 points (54 tries)
#3 Impi Visser (captain) – 49 tournaments, 240 points (48 tries)
#7 Ronald Brown – 23 tournaments, 484 points (50 tries, 117 conversions)
#8 Selvyn Davids – 45 tournaments, 744 points (98 tries, 127 conversions, 1 penalty goal)
#10 Dewald Human – 32 tournaments, 328 points (30 tries, 89 conversions)
#11 Siviwe Soyizwapi – 63 tournaments, 800 points (160 tries)
#15 Donavan Don – 13 tournaments, 113 points (21 tries, 4 conversions)
#16 Sebastiaan Jobb – 7 tournaments, 55 points (11 tries)
#19 David Brits – 14 tournaments, 60 points (12 tries)
#24 Tristan Leyds – 16 tournaments, 179 points (23 tries, 32 conversions)
#28 Grant de Jager – 1 tournament, 0 points
#31 Jayden Nel – uncapped
#35 Gino Cupido – 2 tournament, 25 points (5 tries)
