It is a new week and a new opportunity for the Springbok Sevens this weekend in the fifth tournament of the 2024 season and for Blitzbok head coach Sandile Ngcobo, the HSBC SVNS Los Angeles cannot come soon enough.
James Murphy has linked up with the Springbok Sevens squad in the USA as they prepare for the HSBC SVNS Los Angeles, to be played at Dignity Health Sports Park from Friday to Sunday.
Zain Davids has travelled to Canada six times and returned with three gold medals, but that has not stopped the Blitzbok forward’s winning appetite, who arrived in Vancouver for a seventh HSBC SVNS Canada tournament.
It took them just over 30 hours to get from Cape Town to Vancouver, but for the Springbok Sevens it is all part of the job and uncomfortable travel will not deter their ambition to deliver a winning performance in Canada this weekend.
Springbok Sevens head coach Sandile Ngcobo made five changes to his travelling squad for the next two HSBC SVNS tournaments, in Vancouver next weekend and Los Angeles a week later.
Abrasive but elusive, in your face but slippery, a hard man with a soft touch – David Brits is not an easy opponent, boasting a skill set that saw him help the Toyota Cheetahs win the coveted Currie Cup.
Watching the final of the Emirates Dubai Sevens last Sunday, the celebrations by the Springbok Sevens at the final whistle may have looked slightly muted – because it was as the victory meant different things to different players.
The gold medal for Rugby Sevens at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris cannot be won in Toulouse in 2023, but don't tell the Springbok Sevens team that. In fact, according to Blitzbok coach Sandile Ngcobo, their approach is to use this weekend’s HSBC France Sevens at Stade Ernst-Wallon as an Olympic trial.
His early days as a Blitzbok were a breeze for Shaun Williams. In fact, the former Garsfontein High School learner and University of Johannesburg graduate would have been excused if he thought playing on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series was easy pickings while representing the Springbok Sevens in Vancouver, Edmonton, Dubai (twice) and Seville.
The Springbok Sevens produced a much-improved display in Hong Kong this weekend despite losing three key games by less than one score, and as a result of their sixth place, they climbed two spots on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series standings – from seventh to fifth – with three tournaments to go in the season.