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Blitzboks now turn attention to Cape Town Sevens
The SA Women's team will also be in upbeat mood after their good showing last weekend.
South Africa’s Sevens team, the Blitzboks, will be a happy bunch going into the Cape Town tournament. Picture: David van der Sandt/Gallo Images
South Africa’s Blitzboks have got their mojo back and they’ll be keen to make a big impression in their home tournament, the Cape Town Sevens, this weekend.
This, after the SA team beat Argentina 12-7 in the Cup final in Dubai on Sunday to get their 2023/24 series under way on the perfect note.
The Blitzboks looked a transformed team following their lacklustre showing in the previous series when they never threatened to win the title.
Stand-in head coach Philip Snyman was full of praise for the players and coach Sandile Ngcobo, who missed the tournament because of an Achilles injury.
Backed up the talk
“Coach Sandile deserves a lot of credit for preparing the squad so well over the last couple of months,” said Snyman, who took charge in Dubai.
“The rest of the management also deserve this win … everyone did more than was asked of them, like out high performance manager Marius Schoeman, who travelled with to Dubai to assist where needed.
“Also, we had a very good pre-season and guys showed they were ready to play six tough games. The said they were going to do it and backed that up with a wonderful performance over the two days. They showed a lot of character so all credit to the players.”
The Blitzboks beat some formidable teams en route to winning their fifth Dubai title in a row, among them Samoa, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, in the final.
SA Women’s team
Next up for Ndlovu, Snyman and Co is this weekend’s Cape Town event and the Blitzboks have been drawn in a pool with Ireland, USA and Great Britain.
The SA Women’s team will also again be in action and they’ll be up against France, Canada and the USA in their pool.
After finishing 10th in Dubai, the SA Women’s team will hope to make even more progress at home this weekend.
“We have always played here (at home) courtesy of being the hosts, but this time around, we will compete as a core team and that makes a huge difference to us,” said forward Rights Mkhari about this weekend’s event.
“Our own event will not be a once off opportunity for us and we will come into this as best prepared as we have ever been.
“We are also going to be very competitive, we showed that in Dubai this weekend. I am calling on all to come and support us, it will mean so much for our squad.”
The tournament takes place Saturday and Sunday.
