SAN FRANCISCO – It is all systems go for the Springbok Sevens and Springbok Women's Sevens teams in San Francisco on Monday as they start fine-tuning their preparations for the forthcoming Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament, to be played at AT&T Park starting on Friday.
Both teams arrived in San Francisco on Sunday afternoon following a 25-hour trip from Cape Town via Frankfurt and immediately set about their business.
The Blitzboks had a flush-out session at a nearby gym and the Springbok Women's side used the swimming pool and gym to loosen up the bodies and minds.
"This is a very short turn-around from departure to our first matches on Friday, so the flush-out was important. The players can now hit the ground running on Monday when the tournament specific training starts," explained Renfred Dazel, assistant coach of the Blitzboks.
Dazel played in the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2009 in Dubai and coached the Springbok Women's Sevens team at the 2013 event in Moscow.
"With matches already in four days from now, every session counts and we need the players to be sharp and alert, in order to get maximum value out of every session," he said.
The men will start their campaign on Friday evening (local time) against the winner of Ireland and Chile, while the women face Russia, one of the pre-tournament favourites early on Friday morning local time.