The Blitzboks have announced that captain Siviwe Soyizwapi has been ruled out of this weekend’s Spain Sevens tournament at Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla due to a shoulder injury.
He will be replaced by Shaun Williams.
Soyizwapi was injured in the first match of the Malaga tournament while scoring a try - his 13th of the season.
While the Blitzboks secured their fifth consecutive World Rugby Sevens Series tournament win, the injury prevented Soyizwapi from any further contributions in Malaga.
Williams is no stranger to the Blitzbok setup and was part of the squad that won the previous four titles after making his debut in Vancouver.
He also played in Edmonton and Dubai as well.
The 23-year-old, who has played on the wing and scrumhalf for the Golden Lions earlier in his career, has scored eight tries in his 20 matches for the Blitzboks so far.
Impi Visser, who took over the captaincy from Soyizwapi in Malaga, will lead the South Africans in the fourth tournament of the 2022 World Series.
Williams said he is grateful to join the squad and wished Soyizwapi a speedy recovery: "It is never nice to replace someone who is injured, and I hope ‘Shakes’ is back to full fitness in no time. This does give me another opportunity to join the guys on tour again and contribute and that is something to look forward to."
