Senatla's return to bolster Blitzbokke

Playmaker Cecil Africa will miss the trip to the Far East because of a hamstring injury.

Steven Hunt replaces Afrika, while Senatla comes in for Sampie Mastriet, who is on Super Rugby duty with the Bulls, in the two changes to the 12-man squad which lost to New Zealand in the Wellington Cup Final last month.

Senatla was the leading try scorer with six tries in Las Vegas where the Springbok Sevens managed to win their second US title in a row. An ankle injury forced him to miss the Wellington Sevens two week later.

Hunt last played for the Springbok Sevens in December, when they won the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament and was a stand-out player for the Sevens Academy team which won the Zimbabwe International Sevens in Harare over the weekend.

The Tokyo tournament takes place on March 22 and 23 and will be followed by the three-day Hong Kong event a week later.

With just four more rounds to play, New Zealand are leading the World Series standings on 99 points and they are closely followed by South Africa who are two points adrift.

The Springbok Sevens squad for the World Series tournaments in Japan and Hong Kong:

Chris Dry, Philip Snyman, Frankie Horne, Kwagga Smith, Werner Kok, Kyle Brown (captain), Branco du Preez, Stephan Dippenaar, Justin Geduld, Jamba Ulengo, Steven Hunt, Seabelo Senatla.

Coach:

Neil Powell

(File photo:Gallo Images)