Two FNB UKZN Impi players, Siphathisene "Spa" Dube and Shayne Makombe have been selected for the Sharks Sevens squad.
Dube will travel with the team to the SARU interprovincial Sevens tournament, while Makombe, a Zimbabwe International remains on standby as the non-travelling reserve. The Sharks Sevens team is managed by this year's UKZN Impi assistant coach, Ryno Combrinck.
Sevens success has not been restricted to the men's squad. The UKZN Women's Sevens team recently returned from Pretoria where they took part in the University Sport South Africa (USSA) Sevens championship.
The UKZN ladies swept aside all of their opponents to reach the final of the students' showpiece tournament against the University of Pretoria. In the final they beat UP-Tuks 27-7 to claim the national title.
In the traditional fifteen-man game, Shayne Makombe, Rico Lategan, Lwazi Ncgungama and Adam Wessels have returned from their tour with the Sharks Clubs XV (the old "Natal Duikers"), which recently won the SARU Central Amateur Tournament, seeing off their counterparts from the Free State, Griqualand West and Griffons regions.
UKZN alumnus Ryan Strudwick has been re-appointed as captain of the South African Legends rugby team.
Strudwick, who returned to his alma mater as forwards coach during the 2014 FNB Varsity Shield campaign, will lead the SA Legends in the annual World Rugby Classic in Bermuda.
The Legends will compete with the Classic Lions as well as the national veterans teams of New Zealand, Italy, Argentina, the USA, France and Argentina for the coveted Bermuda title.
Further, UKZN alumni Craig Joubert and Stuart Berry have been appointed by the International Rugby Board as match officials for the November Internationals in the northern hemisphere.
Berry will take charge of the Canada v Namibia match in Colwyn Bay, and will officiate as assistant referee for Scotland's Murrayfield clash with New Zealand and the France v Argentina match in the Stade de France.
Joubert will control proceedings in the historic USA v All Blacks match in Chicago as well as Wales v Australia in Cardiff and Italy's Test match against Argentina in Genoa, and will then return to the Millennium Stadium as assistant referee for Wales' encounter with New Zealand.
