There is a real belief amongst the players in the Springbok Sevens squad that they are improving as a team and doing the right things well has become a blueprint for them, according to experienced forward Ryan Oosthuizen, who arrived in Hong Kong this week for a seventh time as a Blitzbok.
Zander Reynders says he will have a bigger role to play for the Blitzboks when they participate in the HSBC SVNS in Canada.
Sebastiaan Jobb will make a return to HSBC SVNS after almost two years while Tristan Leyds is fit and ready for more Springbok Sevens duty in the 2025 season after the duo have been recalled to the Blitzbok team for the fourth tournament of the current series, next weekend in Vancouver.
The Springbok Sevens’ performance on the final day of the HSBC SVNS Perth was not what he expected, but Blitzbok coach Philip Snyman was still happy about their fourth-place finish as that was one of their objectives at the start of the season.
“To be the best you have to beat the best. We want to be the best team in Perth this weekend so we know what we need to do.”
When he wore the green and gold for the Springbok Sevens the first time – on 28 January 2017 in Wellington, New Zealand – Zain Davids was the proudest man alive and on Friday, eight years later, he will again be on cloud nine when he runs out in his 50th HSBC SVNS tournament for the Blitzboks in Perth.
There were smiles for miles around the DHL Stadium after the Springbok Sevens team won the HSBC SVNS Cape Town for the first time since 2015, with the broadest coming from Blitzbok debutant Zander Reynders.
Springbok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman has included 10 players who have tasted glory at the Emirates Dubai 7s in his first squad for the new HSBC SVNS season, which will kick off in the UAE next weekend.
Six months ago, the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris was the last thing on Siviwe Soyizwapi's mind as he was still recovering from a knee injury and the Springbok Sevens were tumbling out of the automatic qualification spots on the HSBC SVNS log.
It was not the result they had hoped for, but the Springbok Sevens will take away valuable lessons from Madrid this weekend after they finished sixth in the HSBC SVNS Grand Finale in Spain.