Warren Whiteley and Damian de Allende have withdrawn from contention for the Blitzboks' Olympic squad.

According to SuperSport.com, the Bok duo recently informed Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell of their decision to focus on the 15-man game and on making the Springbok squad for the June Test series against Ireland.

There are just two more remaining legs in the World Rugby Sevens Series, and they would have needed to feature in these tournaments in order to be considered for the Olympic squad. Instead, Whiteley and De Allende will remain with the Lions and Stormers respectively.

'It is a bit of a blow for us, but I am still confident that we have more than enough players to cover the positions that Warren and Damian played in, and obviously they still had to come in and prove they could play sevens,' Powell told SuperSport.com.

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