Lionel Mapoe has rejoined the South Africa Sevens squad for training this week.
It has been confirmed that the lightning fast former SA Under 20s wing, who is contracted to the Lions, will attend the Springbok Sevens training camp in Stellenbosch.
The timing would suggest that Mapoe is set to return to international Sevens action in time for the two opening legs of the HSBC Sevens World Series, in Dubai and George, South Africa on 3-4 and 10-11 December respectively.
Mapoe's form in the Sevens jersey made him the envy of many clubs within South Africa but national Sevens coach Paul Treu is now delighted to have him back in the fold.
"Everything has now been resolved and Lionel will join us," Treu told Sport 24 on Monday from Singapore, where his Vipers team lost to the HSBC Penguins in the final of the SCC Sevens.
"We wanted to bring Lionel here for match training but his contract issues had still not been resolved. But now he can join us and I'm keen to work with him again."
Treu had high hopes for his squad travelling out to Singapore, where they failed defend their title.
"We lost in additional playing time against an invitational team, consisting of a few Junior All Blacks and members of the New Zealand Sevens team but I learned a lot during the tournament," he said.
"Certain newcomers like Jacques and Pieter Engelbrecht made a big impression, while one or two of the younger players struggled a bit to make their mark at this level."
Treu will send a team to Namibia next Friday for a tournament, and those who stay behind should form the nucleus of the squad set to compete in Dubai, where they will be looking to better last season's quarter final defeat against Fiji.
"We recently played a strong club team from Fiji and we beat them. The younger guys had to dig deep and it was a great learning experience for them. Kyle Brown and Frankie Horne also got a lot of time on the field after their injuries," he said.
Boom Prinsloo (exam commitments) and Chris Dry (broken finger) will be back playing on Wednesday, while Sharks Under 21 wing Mark Richards could be invited to the training camp after his excellent performances in Singapore.
The Sevens team will play practice matches against the Ikeys and the Maties before they leave on 26 November for Dubai.
