Blitzboks coach Neil Powell was pleased with Werner Kok and Frankie Horne's performances at the Rome Sevens.

The SA Sevens Academy won their fourth consecutive title by beating Brazil 19-7 in the final, with Kok being named Man of the Match.

'It was good to see Werner and Frankie back in action and they definitely threw their names in the hat for [Olympics] selection,' said Powell, who travelled to Rome with the team. 'Both had to work very hard with conditioning coach Johan van Wyk to get back to a level where they could compete again. Credit to all of them, it is testament of the character of those players, who really worked hard to get back in shape.'

The coach was equally pleased with the performances of Branco du Preez, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Sandile Ngcobo and Stephan Dippenaar, all contracted Springbok Sevens players.

'It is probably not fair to highlight individuals, but the group performed well. They all had limited playing time in the World Rugby Sevens Series this year and used every opportunity. I have a couple of selection headaches this week, that is for sure.'

Powell will name his provisional Olympic Games squad next week.