SINGAPORE – The Blitzboks strive for - and believe - that consistency is the key to success in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and helped them win the 2016/17 Series.
This weekend at the HSBC Singapore Sevens they will be looking for more of the same, but also know they have the small matter of the Commonwealth Games to put behind them.
“We often said one game will not define us or what we stand for as a Springbok Sevens team, yet that second half performance against England in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast was one that did show some shortcomings in our attitude,” said stand-in captain, Kyle Brown.
“We were in fact defined by that one game as it also knocked us off the podium and we left Australia without a medal, disappointing many, including ourselves.”
Brown is wearing the armband this weekend in place of Philip Snyman, who has been rested following a heavy workload during the series.
The Blitzbokke have held the World Series lead since the opening tournament in Dubai, but in the last couple of tournaments conceded points to Fiji, who are now only three points behind in second place.
“That is not the concern or focus for the squad though,” Brown said.
“There can be no doubt that some of the new guys in the squad brought some energy and excitement and reminded some of the more established players what if felt like. It impacted on all of us,” said Brown, now South Africa's second most experienced player ever.
“Good performances in Hong Kong were rewarded and those guys can again show what they are capable of. There is little sense in trying to shackle their energy and the way they play as that was what delivered them a medal in Hong Kong, so the senior heads in the team will provide the composure and sense of structure where needed.”
“It was great for all of us to see one group in our system do so well and now we want to combine with them to deliver a good result in Singapore.”
South Africa open their campaign against Samoa on Saturday before facing Canada and Argentina.