The Blitzboks will travel to the Paris leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series without the services of Stedman Gans after the youngster broke his hand in training.

Gans, who replaced Cecil Afrika in London, will have his place taken by Mfundo Ndhlovu with Rhyno Smith travelling as the 13th man.

The South Africans trail Fiji by seven points and can still win the series if they are victorious in Paris and the Fijians fail to reach the semi-finals.

Blitzboks coach Neil Powell emphasised that his side must be consistent if they are to stand any chance of retaining their Sevens Series title.

‘We have standards which we are proud of, and it is up to us to make sure we maintain it this weekend.

‘Our aims for this weekend are clear – we want to leave nothing out there, bring the energy, keep the focus and trust the process.

‘We are also proud of our consistency. It was great to reach nine semi-finals out of nine, but this is the final hurdle for us. We need to go out and make it happen, though, no one is going to do it for us.’

Powell added that he is confident Ndhlovu can grab his opportunity in Paris.

‘Sadly, Stedman is missing out, as he did well in London. Mfundo is one of the most exciting players in the squad and he will also be keen to grab this opportunity.

‘Rhyno has been with us the last six months and has developed very nicely and will fit in well if he is called upon,’ Powell added.

Blitzboks fixtures (Saturday):

vs Scotland 10:06am
vs Russia 1:02pm
vs Canada 6:30pm

Paris Sevens pools:

Pool A: Fiji, New Zealand, Kenya, Samoa
Pool B: South Africa, Canada, Russia, Scotland
Pool C: Ireland, Australia, Wales, Spain
Pool D: England, USA, Argentina, France

Blitzboks squad: Ryan Oosthuizen, Philip Snyman (c), Dylan Sage, Zain Davids, Werner Kok, Heino Bezuidenhout, Dewald Human, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Justin Geduld, Mfundo Ndhlovu, Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel, Rhyno Smith.

Photo: Adam Davy/Getty Images