Crunch time for Blitzbokke

That means the pressure is on the Springbok Sevens to secure another top three finish at the Singapore Sevens this weekend if they are to stay in the running for the HSBC Sevens Series title.

Winning the tournament will put the Blitzbokke back on top of the series standings but Neil Powell’s men will need to get over their poor run of form in the knockout stages of the tournament.

Having finished third in Las Vegas, second in Vancouver and third in Hong Kong Sevens, the Springbok Sevens will desperately want to break their hoodoo of missing out on silverware.

Powell has been honest about wanting to test out all of the players in the Blitzbokke setup as the Olympics loom at the end of the year. That has seen the squad change for the different stops on the circuit but what hasn’t changed is the work ethic in the camp.

Nevertheless that hasn’t translated into crucial tournament victories, which has irked the national coach.

“Obviously you are concerned when you can’t get over that final hurdle. I think it’s something we’ve been working on. Sometimes it’s out of our hands, the guys really perform well but unfortunately we don’t get the result,” Powell said after their third place finish in Hong Kong.

“We need to keep doing what we are doing; we don’t need to change anything. I think at some stage we will get it right, the guys must keep grafting.”

It is hard to find fault in the way the Blitzboks have played and their loses have come down to the narrowest margins and smallest errors. For captain Kyle Brown, it is not as simple as feeling let down by coming short at the business end of the competition.

“Obviously we’re tired of getting so close and not getting to the final. But looking back at that semi-final against New Zealand, it was one of the most epic games that I’ve ever played in. It is really something I’m going to remember for a long time,” the skipper said.

“I can’t fault anybody on attitude or effort. Last week somebody said to me ‘what do you look for in the guys’ and those are the two things. If I know that they’ve given that, there is no way I can be upset with anything.”

All the teams will have to contend with is the sweltering heat in Singapore. It is factor that will call for slightly different preparation according to Brown.

“We have played here in recent years in invitational tournaments with the SA Rugby Sevens Academy and it gets you every time. We have to take that in consideration this weekend, tactically and nutrition wise and with proper hydration.”

Springbok Sevens squad for Singapore:

1. Ryan Kankowski

2. Chris Dry

3. Tim Agaba

4. Kwagga Smith

5. Siviwe Soyizwapi

6. Kyle Brown (c)

7. Branco du Preez

8. Stephan Dippenaar

9. Justin Geduld

10. Cecil Afrika

11. Seabelo Senatla

12. Ruhan Nel 

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