Cape Town - Disappointment could be seen everywhere on Sunday night after the Springbok Sevens team fell short against England in the final of the Cape Town leg of the World Sevens Series. But that disappointment was most evident on the faces of the men who gave it their all on the field.
The Blitzboks would have won their home event for a record fourth time had they won in Cape Town on the weekend, which made the loss even tougher.
The South Africans built on the hot form that won them the Dubai title last week, and they just looked too good to beat in the group stages - brushing Russia aside 41-0 in their first match on Saturday, and following that up with convincing victories against Australia and an in-form USA side later that day.
The South Africans were also too much to handle for Wales in the first quarter-final on Sunday, and against New Zealand the Blitzboks were also the stronger side, although the Kiwis seemed to have improved from their shocking outings last week, including one in which Neil Powell’s side whipped them 40-0.
Capetonians of all ages and cultures flocked to the stadium to do their bit and make the international event a success.Picture: Phando Jikelo
But England managed slow down that quick-raising upward curve that the South Africans have been enjoying for the past two weeks, although the Blitzboks were without immensely important players in Kyle Brown, Seabelo Senatla and Branco du Preez (who went off during the final) for the biggest fixture of the weekend due to injury.
Powell, who also expressed his disappointment, praised England for their tournament-winning performance.
“I’m obviously bitterly disappointed with the result. But I think we must give England credit, they played a good game. They took their opportunities. We of course would have loved to win this one and to give everyone an early Christmas (present), but unfortunately it’s not always a fairy tale.
“I’m still proud of the boys. They put in a good effort. You always feel it when you lose some of your senior and most valuable players, but that’s why it’s a squad and that’s why you need everybody to be up there when they get an opportunity. The next guys should just grab the opportunity. That’s how I got a chance, someone got injured,” the Blitzbok coach said.
Former skipper Brown, who was extremely influential in both Dubai and Cape Town, also spoke about the disappointment in the camp, but he was very positive about the remainder of the Series.
“They were just a bit more clinical than us. And I also think the mistakes we made cost us," Brown said.
“It’s always disappointing. It’s been a fantastic two weeks. We have a very special bunch of players.
"Each group of special individuals seem to surprise more and more. I’m incredibly proud of the guys and how hard they worked this season.
“We’ve got a helluva lot to be positive about. There’s of course disappointment that we let go of that final game, but you’ve got to be very proud of the way the guys played.
"A couple of the guys said ‘sorry sorry’ but it’s not about sorry’s, there’s no apologies out there. They gave it their all. The guys were shattered after that game and they’re more disappointed than anyone else out there."
Werner Kok was also optimistic about the way forward.
“Unfortunately we didn’t pull through, but the guys did phenomenally well. It is a cruel game, but that’s what makes it such a nice game, because you get another chance," Kok said.
“There’s a few things we need to look at ahead of the next tournament. We just need to do better. But we can come out of these two weeks with a positive mindset and hit the pitch again when we come back."
The Blitzboks, who are still first on the log, will get to return to winning ways in Wellington when the Series resumes in January.