SAN FRANCISCO – Ask any of the Blitzboks who their toughest player at training is, and the name of Werner Kok is bound to come up as answer – and that has been the case for the last five seasons.
So when the popular player with his firebrand style expresses his happiness with the way training went thus far this week in San Francisco, it means that everyone had to lift their effort to keep up with the former World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year.
“We play either Ireland or Chile on Friday evening and after the way we trained so far, we will be ready when the tournament starts,” Kok said after the Blitzboks played a warm-up chukka against Argentina.
“It is always nice to have a proper warm-up against a quality team such as Argentina, as they test you in the areas that need improvement. We still have to make some tweaks, like our defence, but I think we will be ready.”
The Blitzboks have a number of players with proper experience of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, but only their captain, Philip Snyman, has played in a Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament before.We will be ready for RWC7s, says Werner Kok.We will be ready for RWC7s, says Werner Kok.
For Kok, this means the weekend’s tournament at AT&T Park presents an exciting opportunity.
“I always wanted to play in this tournament, so I am pretty excited,” said Kok. “The fact that the tournament will be played in San Francisco, another city none of us have not played in, adds to the excitement.
“But knowing that the rest of the team will be ready and keen to play as well, is no doubt the most pleasing of all.”
We are underway with our field session. Tough one with comfort zones pushed, but we kept thw flag flying! @WorldRugby7s @CastleLagerSA pic.twitter.com/KamLa5K1fe
— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) July 17, 2018
Kok said the cobwebs from the long travel from South Africa are gone: “We had a good session Monday and the match against Argentina on Tuesday was just what we needed to get into the right frame of mind and body.
“We are keen to go out there and express ourselves and to play for our country,” he said.