Just In: The Blitzboks is set to bolster their squad with Zain David and three other Western Province stars on loan

The Blitzboks plan to bolster their squad for the 2025-26 season by bringing in loan players from South Africa’s Vodacom URC franchises.

According to reports, players in URC squads who are struggling for game time will be eligible for short-term stints with the national sevens side.

While these players won’t receive full sevens contracts, the arrangement will give them valuable exposure at international level – and, in turn, benefit both their franchises and the Blitzboks.

Among those training with the sevens squad in Stellenbosch are Tristan Leyds, Zain Davids, Quewin Nortjé, Gideon van Wyk, Shilton van Wyk (all Western Province), Tiaan Pretorius (Pumas), David Brits and Donovan Don (Boland), and Christie Grobbelaar (Sharks).

Don, the leading try-scorer in this year’s Currie Cup with nine, is among several players already back in sevens training. Grobbelaar, part of the Sharks’ URC group, will join the Blitzboks on 1 November.

The squad will face Germany in a two-day warm-up series in Stellenbosch on Thursday and Friday, ahead of the World Rugby Sevens Series opener in Dubai on 29 November.

In a further development, SA Rugby is also exploring the possibility of shifting the Rugby Championship to February and March from 2029, to better align with the Six Nations and lay the foundation for a global rugby calendar.

Rapport understands that such a move would only be feasible if the Six Nations organisers agreed to bring their tournament forward by two weeks.

NZ Rugby, previously the only Sanzaar member opposed to an earlier window, could then be persuaded to support the shift.

While a proposal for a touring system – in which each team would travel to one country for a three-Test series – remains under consideration, SA Rugby is understood to prefer the structure which sees each team face the other three, once at home and once away, every year.