And while none of those achievements have happened during his five previous trips to Hong Kong, the 28-year-old, who will be playing in his 58th HSBC SVNS tournament, said his focus remains on living in the moment every time he takes the field, which is exactly what he intends to do this weekend with all the teams even on zero points.

“We are starting this Championship at the same venue and with no log points,” Davids said from Hong Kong, where the team is preparing for a Pool A showdown with Uruguay, Spain and Argentina. “What happened in the past counts for nothing, but what happens this weekend will.

“We have never won here, fair enough, but that is not consuming us. What we want is to be on the same page, execute our game plan as one, and take it one game at a time. For now, that is Uruguay, and from there on in, we’ll take each challenge as it comes.”

Davids missed out on the Vancouver and New York double, but he had the honour of enjoying the Cape Town and Perth trophy lifts during the recently completed HSBC SVNS Series.

“You always want to play in every tournament, but coach Philip laid out his plans to the senior guys at the beginning of the season and explained rest periods and recovery times, so we all knew that we could be rested along the way,” said Davids.

“I use the word rested in italics, as our strength and conditioning coach, Ghafoer Luckan, keeps a very sharp eye on our prescribed fitness programme, even when we are not travelling and he is away with the team.

“So, I am fit and ready for this one. I’m feeling refreshed and keen to get another trophy win.

“We enjoy playing in the Hong Kong tournament, where there is a lot of South African support. In a way, if we go all out and finish on top, it will be as much for them as for us.”

Selected Blitzboks records in Hong Kong:

Most points:

192 Cecil Afrika

148 Branco du Preez

106 Justin Geduld

Most tries:

22 Cecil Afrika

17 Fabian Juries, Seabelo Senatla

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The decorated 28-year-old is on his first visit to Hong Kong, and he plans to make the best of this opportunity, with the long-anticipated tournament victory also on “to do list” in the Far East this week.

“Everyone is raving about this tournament and from what I saw on TV in the past, there is certainly a hype,” said Brits.

“I am in a lift club with Ryan Oosthuizen as well and he speaks with great respect of the tournament. For me personally, the Cape Town Sevens is the best tournament ever, especially when we play in the final and win, like we did in the last two years, but I am prepared to give Hong Kong a go,” Brits added, still with a wink of the eye.

“I missed out on the tournament the last two years because of injury, which was unfortunate, but that is how rugby goes sometimes. This time around I made it, much to my delight as I can now also play in what will be a huge moment in my sevens career. The fact that we arrive here well prepared makes the wait even more exciting.”

Brits has enjoyed the glory that came with winning the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles last year and the HSBC SVNS Series in 2026, but he said the Blitzboks are starting afresh in the first of three World Championship tournaments.

“We came here with the series behind us, as we now focus on the next challenge,” he said.

“We are very proud of what we achieved thus far, but that is in the bank, and we are ready to start creating new memories for the group.

“It was quite telling that this time around, we did not welcome any debutants into our first training session like we had in Cape Town, Singapore, Perth, Vancouver and New York. It shows that our coaches had a plan, made it work and that the players are settled and ready to deliver.”

Brits said the fact that the Blitzboks are the only team that had already booked their place in next year’s HSBC SVNS Series, courtesy of winning the 2026 series, will be a comfort, but no guarantee to success in the three-tournament World Championship.

“All the other teams are vying for the other seven spots, so they will be playing for survival basically,” he said.

“We need to counter that urgency when we face Uruguay, Spain and Argentina in our pool. As usual, we will not look past that first match against Uruguay on Friday. That mindset worked well for us thus far, so we are not changing that.”

Apart from Brits, Jayden Nell is the other Blitzbok player never to have played at this tournament. In fact, Nell was the final debutant during the series when he flew in from South Africa to replace the injured Christie Grobbelaar for the HSBC SVNS New York tournament.

Nell is still taking it all in, but as he has shown in New York, he ready to contribute when needed: “I think what helped me in New York was that first game against New Zealand, when I was 13th man and did not play, I could experience the match real time with the squad and when I got my opportunity, I knew what was coming.

“My job this time will be the same. As a forward, we need to generate momentum and I am also doing my bit in the lineouts so keen to contribute when I get the chance,” Nell said.

Most Blitzbok tournament appearances in Hong Kong
10 Branco du Preez
8 Chris Dry, Frankie Horne
7 Cecil Afrika, Kyle Brown

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The Blitzboks face Uruguay, Spain and Argentina in Pool A of the first of three HSBC SVNS World Championship events, to be held at Kai Tak Sports Park.

“The competitive excellence we are striving for is not just a slogan, it is a reality,” said Nortje as the Biltzboks arrived in Hong Kong on Friday after their long-haul travel from Cape Town via Johannesburg.

“A training session at home is as tough as any match we play. Add the heat in Stellenbosch and the fact we have at least 20 guys eager to make the team for the next event, it is really a competitive environment.

“The nice thing about it is that the players really support and push each other and success to the travelling group also means success to those who stay behind, as it means that they also did their job to get the travelling squad match ready and tournament ready. A win for the guys on tour is a win for the guys at home as well.”

Nortje’s return to the squad took longer than expected, as niggles kept interrupting his progress, but the last couple of weeks were free flowing for the former Junior Springbok wing.

“It is great to be part of the playing squad again and going to Hong Kong makes all the hiccups earlier in the year worth it,” the 23-year-old said.

“It remains one of the most sought-after tournaments for us. I have played here twice before and hopefully it will be third time lucky for us when it comes to winning it.”

Nortje said the results in the HSBC SVNS Series, where the Blitzboks won four out of six tournaments, were good rewards for the sweat and efforts by the players, but they start afresh come the World Championship.

There are solid foundations though. Despite starting the previous tournament – the HSBC SVNS New York – without their season leading tackler, Shilton van Wyk, the Blitzboks still topped the defensive stats with no less that four of them topping up the tackle stats in the USA, where no one made more tackles than Ryan Oosthuizen (16), Sebastiaan Jobb (14), Selvyn Davids (12), and Impi Visser (11) on that weekend.

“It shows how the guys worked for each other. It is not above the individual in this Blitzboks team,” Nortje noted.

Selected Blitzbok stats from the HSNC SVNS Series:

Most points:
90 Shilton van Wyk
72 Ricardo Duarttee
61 Ronald Brown

Most tries:
18 Shilton van Wyk
10 Donavan Don
8 Tristan Leyds

Most tackles:
49 Shilton van Wyk
42 Tristan Leyds
38 Ryan Oosthuizen

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The 23-year-old flyer had a frustrating time with injuries this season and missed all six regular stops of the HSBC SVNS Series, but he is now fit and ready and will be an important cog in the Blitzbok attack at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC SVNS Hong Kong, with a strike rate of 32 tries in 12 tournaments.

The inclusion of Nortje, whose last appearance was at the inaugural World Championship tournament in Los Angeles, where the Blitzboks won the title in May 2025, is one of three changes to the squad that completed the series in New York last month with a fourth tournament win out of six played.

Christie Grobbelaar, Dewald Human and Gino Cupido were ruled out after picking up injuries on the North American leg, where they also won in Vancouver, with Zain Davids and Jayden Nell coming in to complete the travelling squad for the tournament at Kai Tak Sports Park, where 12 teams are divided into three pools of four.

Davids was rested for the North American leg and Nell replaced Grobbelaar in before the New York tournament, where he did enough on debut to convince Springbok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman that he can be trusted in the cauldron of Hong Kong, the only venue where the Blitzboks are yet to win a title.

Apart from Nell and David Brits, who will also disembark at Hong Kong International Airport for the first time, the rest of the squad have 38 combined visits to the famous Far East city, and enter the World Championship with good momentum, having won the last three tournaments.

Snyman said they had to go back to zero once they returned and started building momentum towards the three World Championship events, in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux, at their Stellenbosch training base.

“We started over; this is a new challenge and we have some players coming back, so we had to align first and the best way to do that is to start at the basics,” said Snyman.

“We worked hard in training, pushed each other very hard and reminded ourselves of our objectives at the start of this campaign. Doing well in Hong Kong was one of them, so we know what we are training for.

“Nothing has changed from our competitive excellence mindset in camp, so we will again travel with a quiet determination to build this team into one of the best in the world.

“Everyone is working towards that goal, whether he is selected for a particular trip or not. Someone like Quewin worked very hard over a couple of months in that role and now will be ready to contribute as we know he can.”

The squad will depart for Hong Kong on Thursday.

Hong Kong pools (men)
A: South Africa, Argentina, Spain, Uruguay
B: Fiji, France, Great Britain, Germany
C: New Zealand, Australia, Kenya, USA

Blitzbok pool schedule (all matches live on SuperSport, SA times):

Friday, 17 April
05h16: Uruguay
08h49: Spain

Saturday, 18 April
06h13: Argentina

Springbok Sevens squad for Hong Kong:
#2 Ryan Oosthuizen – 62 tournaments, 270 points (54 tries)
#3 Impi Visser (captain) – 50 tournaments, 240 points (48 tries)
#4 Zain Davids – 57 tournaments, 255 points (51 tries)
#7 Ronald Brown – 24 tournaments, 491 points (51 tries, 118 conversions)
#8 Selvyn Davids – 46 tournaments, 766 points (102 tries, 128 conversions, 1 penalty goal)
#11 Siviwe Soyizwapi – 64 tournaments, 800 points (160 tries)
#12 Shilton van Wyk – 32 tournaments, 355 points (71 tries)
#14 Quewin Nortje – 12 tournaments, 160 points (32 tries)
#15 Donavan Don – 14 tournaments, 113 points (21 tries, 4 conversions)
#16 Sebastiaan Jobb – 8 tournaments, 70 points (14 tries)
#19 David Brits – 15 tournaments, 60 points (12 tries)
#24 Tristan Leyds – 17 tournaments, 193 points (25 tries, 34 conversions)
#31 Jayden Nell – 1 tournament, 0 points

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The Blitzbok coach admitted to an overwhelming feeling of pride and gratitude as his team won the final with a never say die attitude.

“This was special, not because of the execution of play, but the heart and intensity to play for each other that was shown out there,” said Snyman.

“They showed what Springbok Sevens stand for and played for that jersey, and as a coach, you cannot be prouder of such an effort.

“The defensive effort was something else from minute one until the last play. In the final sequence of play, Fiji created an overlap here and there, but the guys never gave up, and they could not get through.

“How some of those players got into some defensive positions to cover, I don’t know. But what I do know is that drive from within to get there. That is what we are about.”

A proud Snyman praised the players for buying into his vision for the squad, which included bringing in new players to build depth: “The senior players bought in and started to contribute, and every new player coming in had the backing of support of the senior guys as well and that made it possible to continue with that plan.

“We are not done yet. We need to keep growing and improving. We will have a rest now but will come back as determined for the three tournaments of the World Championship.”

For Blitzbok captain Impi Visser, finishing the tournament with blood streaming from his face was worth the effort. He said the final was won by determined defence.

“We gave them a bit too much possession, which is what Fiji thrives on, but our defence won the day,” said Visser, who celebrated his 50th world series tournament appearance as well.

“We did not play our best rugby of the tournament in the final, but our defence was outstanding and that secured the win.

“It was the ideal way to celebrate your 50th for sure. To win the tournament and the series and play in your 50th is a nice combination of achievements. It makes the hard work and sacrifices worth it.”

For Selvyn Davids, who was named Player of the Final, the unity of the team effort made the feeling even better.

“We did not always play the perfect game or did what the coaches wanted us to do, but we played for each other, our support system and our country every time we ran onto the field – that was a given,” said Davids.

The final also demanded the very best of each and every one and Davids said the players’ attitude until the final whistle was telling: “We left nothing out there and that is the most satisfying part of this overwhelming feeling of joy and content.

“Words cannot really describe how I feel. To be Player of the Final was because of the team and I could not have done this alone. We really worked hard for this, and it was worth all the effort.”

The Blitzboks return to South Africa knowing that three more tournaments await in the form of the HSBC SVNS World Championship, with stops in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux.

“The season is not over, but we can allow ourselves to enjoy this one and when we come back, we start fresh with the World Championships our focus,” added Davids.

For Siviwe Soyizwapi, this world series victory compared well with the 2016/17 season, when the Blitzboks achieved back-to-back series wins.

“Back then I was just a youngster in the system, learning and doing my best to contribute,” said Soyizwapi. “This time around, after all these years and at my age, this one is perhaps more special. The effort was unreal.”

Soyizwapi is the most capped player in the current squad with 64 world series tournament appearances and had to overcome a string of injuries to make his way back into the team.

“We are blessed with so many tools in this team, we have a group of players that have so many different skill sets and when we use that wisely, we are hard to stop,” he said.

“If you add the care and belief that is in this group to that skill set, it becomes something very special.”

The 33-year-old said the emergence of a number of new players in the group worked wonders for everyone: “Every new player that comes in and contributes makes the system better as it puts pressure on the older players in the team. And that develops a healthy competition in the group and we benefit from it.”

The team will arrive back in Cape Town on Tuesday.

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Brits was hard at work preparing with the Blitzboks for the HSBC SVNS New York this week, again happy to do the donkey work instead of being the race horse.

“The forwards really don’t mind doing the hard yards up front,” the 28-year-old explained. “We have such talented backs and we know that when we provide them with decent possession, they will make magic out wide.”

Ironically, as an outside back in fifteens, Brits had scored his fair share of tries, and he held the Carling Currie Cup aloft with the Toyota Cheetahs, but that is a long way away from his current destiny.

“It took me a while to find my feet in sevens, it is such a tricky game and I am still learning,” said Brits.

“For now, it is going well and I am truly grateful for that. The fact that I have played in all the tournaments this far also got me into the flow of things and I am really enjoying it.”

The Blitzboks are also happy to have Brits around, it seems. The former Junior Springbok has been collecting gold medals along his journey and was on the winners’ podium in four of the last six tournaments they played. He has won five tournament titles since making his debut in Perth in 2024, all of 14 tournaments ago.

So, onto the USA leg, where they won the HSBC SVNS World Championship last year, in Los Angeles, and according to Brits, the entire squad, and especially the forwards, are ready: “We know that every scrum and lineout we win, and every breakdown we contest successfully will give the ball to our backs and then the fun starts.

“I can honestly say all our forwards have the same mindset about doing the donkey work. So, it does not really matter who is on the field, we all have the same goals.”

Brits, Ryan Oosthuizen and Impi Visser all scored some impressive tries in Vancouver as well.

“Yes, it is always nice to see the forwards getting tries. Impi scored two spectacular ones, and it was very nice to see that he still has it,” Brits recalled with a smile.

They will miss the injured Christie Grobbelaar, but Brits punted Jayden Nell, who arrived on Tuesday and had his first session with the squad already.

“Christie brings a lot of speed to the forwards, but Jayden is the same type of player and I know he will do well,” said Brits.

“He has been training with us all this time, so he knows the ins and outs. As with Grant (de Jager) we just need to make sure he stays calm and all will be good.”

The Blitzboks’ objective for the weekend is clear: “We want to go back-to-back. I know Perth and Vancouver were successive, but we want to return home with back-to-back wins. I have not done it before and a couple of other players too, so we are here to win, not to compete.”

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The USA event will be the final in a series of six and with South Africa and Fiji tied at the top of the log, the world series title is in reach for the Blitzboks.

According to Ronald Brown, the leading points scorer in Vancouver last weekend with 31 points, they will return to ground zero this week as they fine tune their final charge to the series trophy.

“We have a lot to play for so getting back to zero is important,” said the playmaker after a gym following their arrival.

“We will have a target on our backs and we need to make sure we start afresh. We are still chasing that perfect game, and we cannot rest on our laurels.”

Brown attributed the tournament win to a team effort and the depth of experience amongst the playmakers in the squad: “We have big forwards, so keeping them on the front foot is important and that is part of the backs’ role to keep them in the game. That is where we come into play.

“I am also lucky that the guys in my position really push hard to make everyone better. Amongst ourselves we are really competitive and that help to bring out the best in everyone. Guys like Dewald Human, Tristan Leyds and Selvyn Davids often encourage me and that creates a very good enviornment in the team.”

Brown is not shy to make a dart for the line himself as his three tries in Vancouver showed.

“I am a playmaker first and that job is to create opportunities for others, but if the gaps open up at the same time, I am going to play what is in front of me,” he said.

“I do tend to do rush things and go from zero to a hundred, so credit to our flyhalves, Dewald and Tristan, for calming me down and making sure we stay with our game plan.”

Brown, who returned to the side after a shoulder injury in Cape Town in December ruled him out of the Singapore and Perth events, was happy to have bounced back in Vancouver, where he won his very first title on debut in 2021.

“The medical team have really worked wonders back at home, especially Nadia Clenzos, the physiotherapist, and our team doctor Janesh Ganda, who worked tirelessly to get me back on the field again and thanks to them, I was ready to play when called upon.

“To make my return with a win was even more special as I missed out on the final day in Cape Town due to my injury then and I could not really enjoy that victory as much.”

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The utility forward replaces Christie Grobbelaar, who picked up a knee injury in Vancouver last weekend, and was ruled out for selection.

The uncapped Nell, who represented the Springbok Sevens ‘A’ side in the Rugby Africa Cup in Mauritius last year, is in line for a potential Blitzbok debut, just like his fellow ‘A’-side teammate Grant de Jager did in Vancouver.

The 20-year-old Nell, who attended Durbanville High School, also played for the SA ‘A’-side in 2024 and should he make his debut this weekend, he will join Nabo Sokoyi, Luan Giliomee, Renaldo Young and De Jager as new caps in the 2026 series.

Meanwhile, the Blitzboks have been drawn with New Zealand, France, and Australia in Pool A, with Fiji, Argentina, Great Britain, and Spain in Pool B.

The Blitzboks had a close call against both New Zealand and Australia in Vancouver but have built up a lot of momentum and according to Tristan Leyds, everyone is pulling in the same direction.

Leyds, who was named Player of the Final in Vancouver, said the return of some senior players added to the side’s composure.

“We were lacking something at times during the season and those lapses cost us, especially in Singapore, when we basically played against ourselves,” said Leyds.

“The senior guys helped eradicate those. We started slowly, but we continued improving and that final was just a game where everything came together for us.

“Some of them are playing in my position and that added pressure on me to be at my best and I think I responded well, so happy with that outcome too.”

Winning the Player of the Final medal was the first time Leyds had won such an accolade, and the playmaker was pleased with the recognition: “I was doing my job, but it remains pleasing to win that, it was my first one and I will remember it for a long time. It all came together nicely in the end and to be part of making it happen was rewarding.”

Blitzboks pool schedule in New York:

Saturday 14 March (SA times):
17h06: New Zealand
20h02: France
22h58: Australia

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South Africa had to work hard to beat Australia in their semi-final late on Sunday evening (SA time), but a first-half blitzkrieg by the Blitzboks set them on track for a 38-12 victory over Spain the final.

The Blitzboks and Fiji – who lost to Spain in the other semi-final – are both on 86 log points with one tournament left in the regular season, to be played in New York next weekend.

The Fijians still top the log though, as they have a +201 points’ differential, compared to the Blitzboks’ +199, and they are the only two teams that can claim the overall series in the USA.

“We really improved game by game and in the final, the guys were very clinical and delivered one of the best performances I have seen by the Springbok Sevens in a long time,” Snyman said.

“Our search for consistency is very important in our vision to become the best sevens system in the world and that starts at home. We aim to bring consistency into our training sessions as well, because that will flow over to tournaments and I am happy to see that happened here in Vancouver.

“We are not perfect yet, but that is okay. I told the players they should not be scared to make mistakes, as long as it is aggressive mistakes and this weekend, I cannot fault the effort or performance the players put on the field.”

The Blitzbok coach said back-to-back tournament victories was another bonus: “We laid out some aims at the start of the season. We wanted to play in every semi-final and then improve on that by consistently making finals and winning them.

“Going back-to-back this weekend, with six changes to the squad that won in Perth, shows that we are getting there. The depth in the squad is very pleasing.

“The players will enjoy this win, but the job is not done as we are tied with Fiji on 86 points and with the final tournament of the series this coming weekend in New York, we have it all to do.”

Snyman said their ability on defence to create more turnovers proved vital in Vancouver and they will try even harder to get that success rate up more.

“Now it is a matter of recovery, getting back to zero again and start focussing on next weekend. It was a massive two days for us, but we will start all over again for the next one.”

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A few seasons ago, Davids showed remarkable soccer skills to set up a try at the HSBC SVNS Vancouver and when the fifth tournament of the 2026 series kicks off on Saturday, Davids will be back for more, refreshed and ready to help push the Springbok Sevens towards the series title.

The 31-year-old missed out on the last two tournaments in Singapore and Perth, but he has recovered from an injury sustained in Cape Town, where the Blitzboks went back-to-back, much to the delight of their home supporters.

After being instrumental in the Cape Town victory, Davids could only watch from afar as the Blitzboks first struggled in Singapore and then turned up in style in Perth, winning the tournament.

“That was very frustrating, I am not going to lie,” said Davids on Wednesday.

“To not be with the guys is not a great feeling as there is nothing you can do sitting at home, stressing about something you have no control over. You want to be part of the team all the time and when you are not there to help, it is not the greatest feeling on earth.”

Despite spiking stress levels, Davids said the break was good for his body: “My legs are getting old now,” he joked, “so any rest is good for them. On a serious note, I do feel refreshed and ready to go.”

Despite being one of the world’s leading sevens players and named in numerous post-season Dream Teams, Davids admits that the Blitzboks training sessions are as demanding as a match on tour.

“The guys really make sure you are at your best,” he said.

“There are good competition and depth amongst the group and that pushes everyone to become better. Being in the squad to travel is also no guarantee that you will stay there, so all of us will be ready to deliver on the weekend.

“Consistency was one area of improvement we worked on and that will be a clear focus for us this weekend. We need to start well and keep that standard.”

The Blitzboks are currently second on the log with two tournaments to play in the normal series.

Standings:
1 Fiji – 70 pts
2 South Africa – 66
3 New Zealand – 62
4 France – 54
5 Australia – 54

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