Blitzbok star Christie Grobbelaar eyes long-awaited Cape Town Sevens debut

The 25-year-old forward has already achieved plenty in green and gold, with gold at the Commonwealth Games, bronze at the Olympics, and an HSBC SVNS world series title to his name. Yet, despite his success, an appearance in the Cape Town Sevens remains missing from his resume.

Grobbelaar hopes that 2025 will be the year he makes his Cape Town Sevens debut when the HSBC SVNS Cape Town takes place on 6 and 7 December.

Back in Stellenbosch this week after a stint with the Sharks - where he featured in the Currie Cup and made his URC debut - Grobbelaar rejoined the Blitzboks setup eager to reignite his sevens ambitions.

"It is good to be back with the guys," he said. "It's been tough to slot back in, but I'm sure I'll be fine once we play some matches this weekend."

He'll get that chance at the Forward Faster 7s Invitational in Stellenbosch, where the SA Sevens Invitational side will face Wits Barbarians, Forward Legends, and the SAS Invitational.

"Although I played in the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2022, it's weird that I've never played in the Cape Town Sevens," said Grobbelaar.

"I was in the Dubai team last year and then got injured, so I missed out on that magnificent win the guys achieved. And the year before, I also picked up an injury in Dubai.

"Come to think of it, in both those two Dubai tournaments, I got injured against New Zealand in the final pool game. Maybe I must ask coach Philip [Snyman] to give me a pass on that game should it come up this year," he smiled.

Equally comfortable at loosehead prop in sevens and on the wing in fifteens, Grobbelaar said he's open to a positional switch if needed.

"Coach mentioned that he wants to use me at tighthead as well this season, which is fine and something I should be okay with," said Grobbelaar, who weighs 95kg and is 1.95m tall. "As long as I can contribute to the team, I will be happy."

After missing nearly all of the 2025 SVNS season due to injury, Grobbelaar says he's hungrier than ever to help the Blitzboks defend their world series title.

"I loved my time in Durban and the whole mission of going to the Sharks is to become a Springbok one day - I suppose that is any rugby player's dream," said Grobbelaar.

"But for now, I am happy to be back with the Blitzboks and to give it my all. Now to get that Cape Town tournament cap, that will be something else."

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