Philip Snyman, coach of the men’s national rugby sevens team, has praised the team for their heroics in winning the HSBC SVNS tournament in Vancouver, Canada, at the weekend.
The Blitzbokke won all the games they played in this tournament at BC Stadium. In the group stage, they beat Great Britain 21-5, Spain 28-7 and New Zealand 17-12.
In the semi-finals they beat Australia 19-12, and in the finals yesterday morning they again defeated Spain 38-12.
“Winning two tournaments in a row, despite the fact that we made six changes to the team that won in Perth, shows that we are growing as a team. It is encouraging to see that the number of players who are ready to play at this level is increasing,” said Snyman.
“The way we were marking well led to the opponents taking away the ball more often and attacking quickly, which worked for us a lot this weekend. Another thing that pleased me is that we raised the level as the competition continued, and we were able to reach the final again.”
The Blitzbokke are looking to win the next tournament to be played in New York, United States, this weekend.
“It’s a priority that we don’t give up so that we can be the best Sevens team in the world. It all starts with being willing to practice, and then transfer it to the competitions. So I was happy to see that happen in Vancouver.”
“We have not reached where we want to be. The players will be happy with our victory in Canada but the work is not over. We will start again and focus on the next tournament.”
Fiji topped the log with 86 points, followed by the local team with equal points.
Other teams in the Top 5 are New Zealand with 62 points, France and Australia with 54 points each, and Argentina with 44 points.