There is clarity on their roles and responsibilities, an understanding of the game plan and a good week of preparation in Dubai where each training session the Springbok Sevens had, focused on hitting the ground running at the 2024 Emirates Dubai 7s, the first of seven tournaments of the new HSBC SVNS season.
Blitzbok head coach Philip Snyman on Friday said his team will go into their Pool A fixtures against Australia, Kenya and France with a clear plan and a guaranteed determination to do well.
“The guys are in a good space for the weekend,” said Snyman. “We had a good week of preparation and are ready to play.”
Snyman described the prelude to the tournament as positive: “We arrived on Tuesday from Cape Town, had a quick gym session to get the blood pumping and then a light run to get the ball through the hands.
“Our Wednesday session was much more intense as it was the main one of the week, with the focus on defence.
“Yesterday, the guys had time off, and today’s session was the traditional captain’s run, where we focused on clarity.”
Expect a determined defensive effort with a sniff for turnover possession when you watch the Blitzboks play this season, Snyman hinted.
“We want to be a strong defensive force this season and worked hard on that,” he said.
“We will be looking at exploiting turnovers that comes from good defensive hits from the forwards and if we manage that, our speedy backs will score tries. Last season we leaked too many tries and we worked hard to sort out the shortcomings we had in that regard.”
The Blitzboks finished last season with a victory in the bronze medal playoff against Australia at the Olympic Games in Paris, and will face the same opponents in their opening match at The SEVENS on Saturday.
“They will have a point to prove for sure, but we remain focused on our own game and how we want to play,” said Snyman.
“A couple of teams have new personnel and coaches, like Australia, so it will be a very competitive tournament. The only way we can make sure of good results will be to focus on ourselves.”
Facing Kenya is always physical, and this time will be no different, Snyman said.
“And then France, who knocked us out of the gold medal race in Paris, so yet another team where we would like to be at our best. That is why the first game against Australia is important, as it will lay down a marker for us,” the coach explained.
South Africa won the previous five and seven of the last eight tournaments in Dubai, but for Snyman that doesn’t mean additional pressure on the team.
“We have tournament goals and season goals, but we will only be successful in both if we focus on ourselves and execute well,” he said.
All matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport and RugbyPassTV.
Emirates Dubai 7s Pools:
Pool A: Australia, France, Kenya, South Africa
Pool B: Argentina, Great Britain, Ireland, Uruguay
Pool C: Fiji, New Zealand, Spain, USA
Blitzbok pool fixtures – Saturday 30 November (SA times):
08h50: Australia
12h58: Kenya
16h44: France
Head-to-Head:
Australia: SA won 69 of 106 matches – average score of 17-13
Kenya: SA won 61 of 69 matches with one draw – average score of 26-9
France: SA won 58 of 68 matches with one draw – average score of 24-10
eerie
On 12 th January 1964, Indian spinner Bapu Nadkarni bowled 21 consecutive maiden overs vs England at Chennai.
Super Flick
Sport Trivia: Where did Naas Botha play his first test match for South Africa? Answer: Wanderers – Naas Botha was selected to play for South Africa at Rugby Union after playing for the SA Under 20 squad. He made his debut against South America on 26 April 1980 at the Wanderers Stadium, recognised as a cricket ground. This was due to the fact that Ellis Park had been demolished in 1979 to be rebuilt.