Springbok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman expressed his satisfaction with the progress of his squad’s HSBC SVNS pre-season preparations on Thursday, as they finished their final condition block before the 2026 season kicks off.
The Blitzboks played in a local tournament, the Fast Forward Sevens, in Stellenbosch last weekend and then departed for a team building and culture session in Caledon.
They will return to their Stellenbosch Academy of Sport base on Monday, with all focus on the Emirates Dubai Sevens, to be played on 29-30 November, before returning to South Africa as defending champions of the HSBC SVNS Cape Town tournament at DHL Stadium.
The local event will be played on 6 and 7 December and tickets are available exclusively from Ticketmaster.co.za, from only R250 per person per day.
“This was a good block for us,” Snyman said after the Caledon outing.
“We needed to get some game time in the legs, especially to get the guys who returned from their fifteens duties back on track with our plays, while it was very productive for those players who trained with us for the first time.
“For that, the tournament we played proved vital and I am very happy how that went for us. We also had Germany here in this block and played 12 matches against them, helping to get us into shape.”
The Blitzboks are well-respected for their team culture and Snyman said their value system was properly discussed and accepted by the group during the Caledon session.
“It is a player driven system and we are lucky to have a strong leadership group with a lot of experience playing on the circuit as well,” the Blitzbok coach said.
“I am also fortunate to have Renfred Dazel around, as he will be assisting me this season. His input and technical knowledge is immense and as a former Blitzbok himself, he drives the value system hard too.”
Snyman will return on Monday with his next challenge, to decide which combinations to select for the opening tournament, where the Blitzboks, as defending World Champions, will face Olympic gold and silver medalists France and Fiji, as well as Argentina, who finished top of the standings last season.
“One of the main aims for this season is to expand our selection base with the eye on the 2029 Olympics and that remains the case,” he said.
“Our squad is ageing and we need to adapt to that. I also wanted to give myself more options in selections, especially amongst the forwards and I am happy where we are.
“Instead of three, I can now select from at least 10 players to start the match in the forwards, exactly the position I wanted to be in at the start of the season,” Snyman added.
tall sally
Sport Trivia: At the 2007 Cricket World cup, this South African batsman made history when he became the first player to hit six sixes in an over in a ODI match. Answer: Herschelle Gibbs. Herschelle is one of the Protea\’s best batsmen with over 5000 Test runs and over 6000 ODI runs. He is also an excellent fielder, and bowls in first class matches. When Herschelle is on form there is no stopping him, with many centuries and half centuries to his name. However, he also has a fair share of ducks and many matches where he has failed to make 10 runs.
Infinite Hole
There are two parts of cricket bats: the handle, and the blade.