An impressive performance in the opening tournament of the 2024 HSBC SVNS in Dubai last weekend created expectations that the Springbok Sevens squad will do a double at the HSBC SVNS Cape Town this weekend.
However, Blitzbok captain Selvyn Davids downplayed those expectations on Friday as the team finished off their preparations and said it will quite tough to go back-to-back.
The South Africans will be aiming for only a second tournament victory in Cape Town since 2015, when the tournament moved to the Mother City for the first time.
“It is quite tough to win two weekends in a row, especially now where the number of teams had decreased to 12 and every game feels like a final,” Davids said.
“Of course there will be expectations, as we did play well last week and we are looking at a similar result, but there are so many teams that have the potential to play in the final.
“So, it will be about limiting mistakes and expressing ourselves through the game plan. We have showed to ourselves last week what is possible, so there is no reason to doubt.
“We trained well and have the momentum from last weekend, so we will go into the tournament with confidence. We recovered well from last week – the bodies were sore but our training load for this week was less hectic, and I think we freshened up nicely.”
The team visited Table Mountain on Thursday and Davids said that helped to ease the nerves for the weekend.
“Yes, that was good,” he said. “The scenic beauty and to be out there taking it in was something else and very relaxing for the players. It had a relaxing effect, and we could forget about the pressures of the game for a while.”
South Africa play Great Britain, USA and Ireland in Pool A of the tournament played at DHL Stadium and Davids said they will have a strategy for each of those opponents.
Apart for Argentina (439 caps), Team GB are the most experienced in Cape Town, with a combined total of 352 caps, compared with South Africa on 298 combined tournament caps.
Head-to-Head:
Great Britain: Played 8, SA won 5; Average score: 19-13
USA: Played 67, SA won 55; Average score: 24-10
Ireland: Played 15, SA won 11; Average score: 19-11
Springbok Sevens fixtures – Saturday (all matches on SuperSport):
10.50am: Great Britain
2.18pm: USA
7.40pm: Ireland
The Springbok Sevens squad for Cape Town:
2. Ryan Oosthuizen; 3. Impi Visser; 4. Zain Davids; 6. Tiaan Pretorius; 7. Ronald Brown; 8. Selvyn Davids (captain); 10. Dewald Human; 12. Shilton van Wyk; 14. Rosko Specman; 18. Masande Mtshali; 23. Justin Geduld; 30. Quewin Nortje; 35. Katlego Letebele
SA Rugby