As a Blitzbok, he has won the HSBC SVNS world series, gold at the Commonwealth Games and bronze at the Olympic Games, but for Christie Grobbelaar, an appearance at his home tournament in Cape Town has remained rather elusive.
And, hopes the De Doorns native and former scholar from HTS Drostdy in Worcester, maybe 2025 might just be the year for him to make his mark at DHL Stadium, where the HSBC SVNS Cape Town will be played on 6 and 7 December.
The 25-year-old returned to his Springbok Sevens stomping ground in Stellenbosch this week after playing three Carling Currie Cup matches for the Hollywoodbets Sharks before making his debut in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, and after two days of intense training, Grobbelaar admitted that the desire to play for the Blitzboks remains as strong as always.
“It is good to be back with the guys,” said Grobbelaar. “It’s been tough to slot back in, but I am sure I will be fine once we play some matches this weekend.”
Grobbelaar refers to the Forward Faster 7s Invitational in Stellenbosch, where he will run out with his current teammates as they prepare for the forthcoming HSBC SVNS series.
They will play as the SA Sevens Invitational team and will face Wits Barbarians, Forward Legends and the SAS Invitational on Saturday, the first day of the tournament played at Markötter Stadium in Stellenbosch.
“Although I played in the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2022, it’s weird that I have never played in the Cape Town Sevens,” said Grobbelaar, who played for DHL Western Province at U19 and U21 level.
“I was in the Dubai team last year and then got injured, so missed out on that magnificent win the guys achieved. And the year before, I also picked up an injury in Dubai.
“Come to think of it, in both those two Dubai tournaments, I got injured against New Zealand in the final pool game. Maybe I must ask coach Philip [Snyman] to give me a pass on that game should it come up this year,” he smiled.
Grobbelaar plays loosehead prop for the Blitzboks and on the wing for his Vodacom URC outfit, and revels with ball in hand.
“Coach mentioned that he wants to use me at tighthead as well this season, which is fine and something I should be okay with,” said Grobbelaar, who weighs 95kg and is 1.95m tall. “As long as I can contribute to the team, I will be happy."
The fact that he missed out on the entire 2025 season, bar his solitary Dubai performance, has made Grobbelaar hungry to perform with the Blitzboks, who return to the HSBC SVNS circuit as defending world champions.
“I loved my time in Durban and the whole mission of going to the Sharks is to become a Springbok one day – I suppose that is any rugby player’s dream,” said Grobbelaar.
“But for now, I am happy to be back with the Blitzboks and to give it my all. Now to get that Cape Town tournament cap, that will be something else.”