The South African national rugby sevens team, commonly known as the Springbok Sevens or Blitzboks, 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 5 times, as well as having won 48 tournaments in the series.

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 sponsor1993–1996Cotton TradersLion Lager1996–2000NikeNo shirt sponsor2000–2004Castle Lager2004–2011CanterburySASOL2011–2014Absa2014–2016Asics2016–2018Steinhoff2018–2022Castle Free2022–2023WeBuyCars2023–2025Nike2025–PresentFNB

Tournament history

World Rugby Sevens Series

Series Record SeasonPosition1999–005th2000–015th2001–02 2nd2002–034th2003–045th2004–054th2005–063rd2006–074th2007–08 2nd2008–09 1st2009–106th2010–11 2nd2011–125th2012–13 2nd2013–14 2nd2014–15 2nd2015–16 2nd2016–17 1st2017–18 1st2018–194th2019–20 2nd2021 1st2021–22 2nd2022–237th2023–247th2024–254th2025–26 1stChampions5

Grand Final Record EventPosition20246th2025 1st2026 1stChampions2

Series tournament wins South Africa won the following tournaments on the Sevens World Series since its inception in 1999–2000:

48 Tournament wins up to 19 April 2026

+ Cup wins Season Tournament Final opponent Score 2001–02 2002 Wellington Sevens Samoa 17–14 2002–03 2003 Cardiff Sevens Argentina 35–17 2003–04 2003 Dubai Sevens New Zealand 33–26 2004 Singapore Sevens Argentina 24–19 2004–05 2005 London Sevens England 21–12 2005–06 2006 Paris Sevens Samoa 33–12 2006–07 2006 Dubai Sevens New Zealand 31–12 2007–08 2008 Adelaide Sevens New Zealand 15–7 2008–09 2008 Dubai Sevens England 19–12 2008 South Africa Sevens New Zealand 12–7 2009 Adelaide Sevens Kenya 26–7 2010–11 2011 USA Sevens Fiji 24–14 2011 London Sevens Fiji 24–14 2011 Edinburgh Sevens Australia 36–35 2012–13 2013 USA Sevens New Zealand 40–21 2013 Japan Sevens New Zealand 24–19 2013 Scotland Sevens New Zealand 28–21 2013–14 2013 South Africa Sevens New Zealand 17–14 2014 USA Sevens New Zealand 14–7 2014–15 2014 Dubai Sevens Australia 33–7 2014 South Africa Sevens New Zealand 26–17 2015–16 2015 South Africa Sevens Argentina 29–14 2016–17 2016 Dubai Sevens Fiji 26–14 2017 Wellington Sevens Fiji 26–5 2017 Sydney Sevens England 29–14 2017 USA Sevens Fiji 19–12 2017 Paris Sevens Scotland 15–5 2017–18 2017 Dubai Sevens New Zealand 24–12 2018 Paris Sevens England 24–14 2018–19 2019 Canada Sevens France 21–12 2019 Singapore Sevens Fiji 20–19 2019–20 2019 Dubai Sevens New Zealand 15–0 2020 USA Sevens Fiji 29–24 (a.e.t.) 2021 2021 Vancouver Sevens Kenya 38–5 2021 Edmonton Sevens Great Britain 24–12 2021–22 2021 Dubai Sevens Event I United States 42–7 2021 Dubai Sevens Event II Australia 10–7 2022 Málaga Sevens Argentina 24–17 2022 Seville Sevens Australia 33–72022–232022 Dubai SevensIreland21–52023–242023 Dubai SevensArgentina12–7 2024–25 2024 South Africa Sevens France 26–14 2025 USA Sevens Spain 19–5 2025–26 2025 South Africa Sevens Argentina 21–19 2026 Australia Sevens Fiji 21–19 2026 Canada Sevens Spain 38–12 2026 USA Sevens Fiji 10–7 2026 Hong Kong Sevens Argentina 35–7

Quadrennial tournaments

Summer Olympics Olympic Games recordYearRoundPosition 2016Bronze medal match3rd6420 2020Fifth place match5th6510 2024Bronze medal match3rd6330Total0 Titles3/3181260

Olympic Games History2016Pool stage 24 – 0 Win 26 – 0 Win 5 – 12 LossQuarterfinals 22 – 5 WinSemifinals 7 – 5 LossBronze Medal Match 54 – 14 Win2020Pool stage 33 – 14 Win 14 – 5 Win 17 – 12 WinQuarterfinals 14 – 19 Loss5th Place Semifinals 22 – 19 Win5th Place Match 28 – 7 Win2024Pool stage 5 – 10 Loss 5 – 17 Loss 49 – 5 WinQuarterfinals 14 – 7 WinSemifinals 5 – 19 LossBronze Medal Match 26 – 19 Win

Rugby World Cup Sevens World Cup Sevens recordYearRoundPosition Played Won Lost Drew 1993Quarterfinals5th8620 1997Final2nd7610 2001Quarterfinals5th6510 2005Quarterfinals5th6420 2009Quarterfinals5th4310 2013Quarterfinals5th4310 2018Semifinals3rd4310 20227th place final7th4220Total0 Titles8/84332110

Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games recordYearRoundPosition 1998Quarterfinalists5th5410 2002Semifinalists3rd6510 2006Plate Finalists6th6330 2010Semifinalists3rd6510 2014Champions1st6600 2018Semifinalists4th5320 2022Champions1st6600Total2 Titles403280

Commonwealth Games history19981st Phase 29 – 22 Win1st Phase 59 – 0 Win2nd Phase 79 – 0 Win2nd Phase 38 – 0 WinQuarter-finals 5 – 26 Loss2002Pool stage 82 – 0 WinPool stage 19 – 12 WinPool stage 26 – 12 WinQuarter-finals 17 – 12 WinSemi-finals 7 – 17 LossBronze Medal Match 19 – 12 Win2006Pool stage 19 – 26 LossPool stage 63 – 7 WinPool stage 12 – 10 WinQuarter-finals 14 – 20 LossPlate Semi-finals 17 – 14 WinPlate Final 28 – 29 Loss2010Pool stage 29 – 0 WinPool stage 59 – 0 WinPool stage 21 – 5 WinQuarter-finals 10 – 7 WinSemi-Finals 7 – 17 LossBronze Medal Match 17 – 14 Win2014Pool stage 36 – 0 WinPool stage 50 – 0 WinPool stage 20 – 0 WinQuarter-finals 35 – 12 WinSemi-Finals 35 – 7 WinGold Medal Match 17 – 12 Win2018Pool stage 43 – 0 WinPool stage 52 – 0 WinPool stage 26 – 5 WinSemi-Finals 19 – 24 (a.e.t.) LossBronze Medal Match 14 – 21 Loss2022Pool Stage 46 – 0 WinPool Stage 36 – 5 WinPool Stage 34 – 0 WinQuarter-finals 33 – 0 WinSemi-Finals 24 – 12 WinGold Medal Match 31 – 7 Win

World Games

Tournament Placing2005 Duisburg 2nd (Silver)2009 Kaohsiung3rd (Bronze)2013 Cali1st (Gold)

Honours SVNS Series Champions: 2008–09, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2021, 2025–26 SVNS Grand Final Winners: 2025, 2026 Commonwealth Games Gold Medalists: 2014, 2022 World Games Gold Medalists: 2013

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 France Sevens.

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 rugby sevens players. Players in bold are still active.

+Tournaments played No. Player Tournaments 1 88 2 76 3 74 4 72 5 72

Award winners The following South Africa Sevens players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2004:

+ World Rugby Men's 7s Rookie of the Year Year Nominees Winners 2014 Seabelo Senatla — 2015 Ruhan Nel 2021 Ronald Brown 2023 Ricardo Duarttee Ricardo Duarttee 2024 Quewin Nortje —

+ World Rugby Men's 7s Player of the Year Year Nominees Winners 2006 Stefan Basson — 2008 Fabian Juries 2009 Renfred Dazel 2011 Cecil Afrika Cecil Afrika 2014 Kyle Brown — 2015 Werner Kok Werner Kok Seabelo Senatla 2016 Seabelo Senatla Seabelo Senatla 2017 Rosko Specman — 2026 Tristan Leyds Tristan Leyds

+ World Rugby Men's 7s Dream Team Year Player 2024 1. Selvyn Davids 2026 1.7. Shilton van WykTristan Leyds

References

External links Official website WorldRugby profile