Uplands College pupils Siphesihle and Thubelihle Marule have been selected for the SA U17 Sevens rugby team that will compete in the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, reports Lowvelder.

The twins will proudly wear the green and gold just three and a half years after they were first introduced to rugby.

Yesterday, SA Rugby announced the boys’ U17 Sevens squad, which will form part of Team South Africa for the games taking place from October 31 to November 13.

Rapid rise from novice to national level

The brothers joined Uplands in Grade Eight in 2023 through the Kgwale Le Mollo Foundation.

Neither had played rugby before arriving at Uplands, yet they embraced the game with enthusiasm and quickly developed into outstanding young sportsmen.

Both brothers represented the Pumas at the FNB U18 Craven Week held at Grey High School in Gqeberha from July 5 to 11.

The Rugby Sevens competition will be contested from November 1 to 3, with South Africa’s squad having been finalised following an extensive talent identification and selection process.

Former Springbok Sevens coach heads technical team

Former Springbok Sevens player and coach Sandile Ngcobo was appointed head coach, while Bongani Qumbu, a member of the Springbok management at the Rugby World Cup in 2023, will serve in the dual role of team manager and strength and conditioning coach.

The selected players were part of an extended squad of 30 players that attended a week-long preparation camp earlier this month.

The group was identified through SA Rugby’s national talent identification network and selected on the strength of their performances across a range of elite school and age-group competitions.

Two players, Siphesihle and Werner de Bruin, were part of the SA Schools ‘A’ squad earlier this year, which was selected after the FNB U18 Craven Week.

“Players were monitored through the FNB Youth Weeks and SA Schools programmes, while we also keep an eye on leading school fixtures, tournaments such as North-South and Wildeklawer tournaments, as well as other major rugby festivals and competitions staged throughout South Africa,” said Ngcobo.

“As part of the final selection and readiness process, the squad participated in a tournament at Paarl Gimnasium a few weeks ago, where we could see how they fared in actual sevens match situations.

“It was great to see the group go through the tournament unbeaten, and we feel that the final 12 players who were selected, based on their performances during the camps and competition, will do the country proud in Senegal.”

Final 12-man squad for Youth Olympic Games

SA U17 Sevens squad for the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games (high school and provincial union in brackets):
1. Dandré Brink (Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, Blue Bulls)
2. Divan Meyer (Boland Landbou, Western Province)
3. Rosco Williams (Glenwood High School, KwaZulu-Natal)
4. Kingsley Pule (Grey College, Free State)
5. Darnell Delport (Hoërskool Outeniqua, Southwestern Districts)
6. Albert Nel (Paul Roos Gimnasium, Western Province)
7. Corné Ferreira (Paarl Gimnasium, Western Province)
8. Werner de Bruin (Paul Roos Gimnasium, Western Province)
9. James Sale (SACS, Western Province)
10. Jake Dave (SACS, Western Province)
11. Thubelihle Marule (Uplands College, Mpumalanga)
12. Siphesihle Marule (Uplands College, Mpumalanga).

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