Johannesburg - There’s nothing to be happy about in South African rugby at the moment and when the Blitzbokke agonisingly missed out on their fourth consecutive home title in Cape Town last week, when they narrowly lost 19-17 to England, it seemed as if the once golden nation of the world had sunk to its knees and its unifying force in the game of rugby was at death’s door.
True, SA rugby is having its stay of execution as decisions made last week in making major structural changes to the organisation will buy the game a handful of months before they stare death in the eye or make their slow but progressive way to recovery and regain their place at world rugby’s top table.
For a moment in last weekend’s final against England at the Cape Town Stadium, the feeling was that of a funeral and the demise of Springbok rugby. However deep within the bowels of the beautiful white elephant that the seaside arena has become, the Blitzbokke were already looking ahead and optimistic in the sea of disappointment.
The truth is that the Blitzbokke could have secured an even greater lead on the Sevens Series log and gone to the tournaments in Wellington and Sydney confident that their season's goal of winning their second world title after seven years could be a reality and not just a pipe dream.
As things stand after the Dubai and Cape Town legs of the World Rugby Sevens Series, the South Africans are perched at the top of the standings with 41 points and closely followed by second-placed England, who are on 39. They are followed at some distance by Fiji (32 points), Scotland (27 points) and New Zealand (27 points).
But there is plenty to be optimistic about and beyond the red mist that has suffocated the love for most South Africans about the game of rugby, the Blitzbokke not only represent everything that is right about the game at the southern tip of the African continent but they look to be a cut above the rest of their competitors on the circuit.
Indications that Neil Powell’s men are well on their way would have been the manner in which they conducted themselves on the field in the first two tournaments of the season and how they struck fear of a superior kind in the way they went about dismantling fierce foes New Zealand and Fiji.
It was in Dubai that the Blitzbokke signalled their intentions by making a monumental step-up in performance from their unconvincing pool games against Uganda, Scotland and the US. They made a major statement by tearing apart New Zealand 40-0 in the quarter-final in the desert before tackling Olympic gold medallists Fiji in the final.
There was more than enough hope for Blitzbokke fans to hold on to going to Cape Town a week later and their team lived up to expectations. They used the pressure of playing at home to their advantage as they put the likes of Russia, US and Australia to the sword.
On the second day at the foot of the scenic Table Mountain, the Blitzbokke continued to draw inspiration from the passionate and boisterous crowd when they beat Wales in the quarter-finals and narrowly overcame New Zealand 14-7 in the semi-final.
The final against England was probably a moment of déjà vu for Powell and his men as it would have taken them back to the Rio Olympics when they faced a Great Britain side in the quarter-finals littered with England players and narrowly beat the Blitzbokke to play in the gold-medal match against Fiji.
There were so many similarities between Cape Town and Rio and the fact that the Blitzbokke were playing without two influential players in former captain Kyle Brown and try-scoring machine Seabelo Senatla, who were injured in the semi-finals and quarter-finals, respectively.
Brown has been ruled out for the remainder of the series with a knee ligament injury and underwent surgery on Thursday, while Senatla suffered a upper quad injury and will probably be ready for action ahead of the trips to Australasia.
“I think we're happy, (it's) better than last season. Last year in Dubai we only managed to win the Plate and won our home tournament, so obviously we would have loved to win our home tournament this year and give the people of South Africa a lovely Christmas present.
"Unfortunately, it’s not always a fairy tale and sometimes you need to work hard to create them,” said Powell in the aftermath of the bitter disappointment of losing a final at home.
Just as in previous years, the Blitzbokke hold their fate in their own hands, and steady improvement in the way they play and their mental fortitude can only bode well for a team that will go to Wellington hoping to exorcise the demons of last season, when they lost to New Zealand after the final hooter had sounded.
What is important for Powell is constantly to remind his players that Dubai and Cape Town proved they make up a superior team to the others on the circuit and all they need do is to apply themselves on the field while striking a fine balance ensuring they have the mental strength to see them over the line, especially in knockout matches against the more established nations.
The Blitzbokke have twice finished runners-up to Fiji in the past two seasons and on both occasions they surrendered the world series lead in the penultimate tournament of the season because of their inability to step up when the need arose.
This season Powell and his men will do it differently. They will need to ensure that they are the last team standing in most of the remaining eight tournaments.
“There are a lot of positives from the effort the guys put in and the way they were physical against teams that were physical,” Powell said.
"The thing is, this is a game of Sevens and it can go either way. Sevens is always going to be close, especially when you get to the knockout stages of the cup competition. Usually the bounce of the ball and using your opportunities will determine the outcome of a game.
"I’m proud of the boys. They’ve done really well and, yes, there are one or two things we still need to improve on and we’ll keep on working on those areas. We will keep on going forward and go for glory."