Gans picks Bulls over Blitzboks

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: BlitzBoks star Stedman Gans has decided to solely focus on his rugby career at the Bulls.

In an interview with Sport24, Gans, who has enjoyed a very successful career with the South African Sevens team, has opted to end his Sevens journey.

The dynamic midfielder has been switching between the two codes for the last few years.

After being part of the BlitzBoks' Olympic team, the 24-year-old revealed he will exclusively focus on the XV-man format.

"My immediate future plan is to focus solely on the Bulls now," Gans told Sport24.

"I'm definitely finished with Sevens for now.

"It's actually the conversation we had beforehand and that's we are now."

The BlitzBoks failed to secure a podium position at the Olympics after they fell short at the quarterfinal stage against Argentina.

The uncharacteristic result was not an ideal end to the Gans' Sevens career, who was the BlitzBoks Sevens Player of the Year for 2020.

However, Gans' decision could not come at a better time for the Bulls.

Jake White's men are currently preparing for the Currie Cup play-offs followed by the challenging United Rugby Championship and Gans is set to be a vital part of that squad.

When quizzed about how difficult it is to switch between the two codes, last year's Super Rugby Unlocked leading try-scorer said: "The two codes differ fundamentally, especially in terms of the preparations and conditioning.

"It takes a game or two to get back into the groove, but I believe it gets easier every time."

He added: "For now I won't have to do that against anytime soon,"

Other Sevens converts in the Bulls side are Kurt-Lee Arendse and Conral Hendricks.

While Rosco Specman, who also played at the Bulls, has been another Sevens star who successfully switched to XVs.

Source: @Sport24