Oosthuizen: Blitzboks have to rebuild reputation and trust
Ryan Oosthuizen has urged to the Blitzboks to bounce back from a disappointing season as they prepare for the HSBC SVNS series, which kicks off in Dubai early next month.
Ryan Oosthuizen has urged to the Blitzboks to bounce back from a disappointing season as they prepare for the HSBC SVNS series, which kicks off in Dubai early next month.
The Springbok Sevens worked extremely hard to prepare for the Rugby Africa Olympic Games 2024 qualifiers – as their performances leading up to the final showed – which is why the 17-12 defeat against Kenya in the final was extremely disappointing and gut wrenching for the squad.
There were some familiar faces at the tournament hotel and the flight to Harare was almost like travelling to Johannesburg, but the Springbok Sevens team's journey to Zimbabwe – for the Rugby Africa Olympic Games qualifiers on Saturday and Sunday – is one they have not yet travelled before and where they will expect the unexpected.
Former Springbok wings Rosko Specman and Travis Ismaiel were both named in an experienced and multi-skilled Springbok Sevens squad that will travel to Harare on Thursday for the Rugby Africa Olympic Games qualifiers.
There will be good news for the Springbok Sevens squad when they assemble at their base in Stellenbosch on Wednesday for their final camp in the build-up to the Olympic Games qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe next month, but also some bad news for team and country.
SA Rugby has confirmed Renfred Dazel has been appointed as the new head coach of the Springbok Women's Sevens team until the end of the 2026 season.
A group of 28 Under-18 players will assemble at Grey College in Bloemfontein this weekend for a three-day Commonwealth Youth Games training camp under the watchful eye of Marius Schoeman, SA Rugby's High-Performance Manager for Sevens.
The Springbok Sevens team shrugged off the disappointment of not making the quarter-finals at the HSBC London Sevens with two big wins on Sunday to claim ninth spot at Twickenham as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series drew to a close.
Their quest for automatic qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games may be out of their hands, but the Springbok Sevens team will leave no stone unturned at the HSBC London Sevens this weekend as they give it one final push to book their tickets to Paris next year.
The Springbok Sevens team put in a huge effort at the HSBC France Sevens this weekend, but sadly the results did not show that, so from the perspective of Blitzbok head coach Sandile Ngcobo, it was not all doom and gloom.