The Singapore leg of the HSPC Sevens has once again returned, but for South Africa’s national side, the Blitzboks, the results presented mixed emotions.
As a rugby-loving nation, we South Africans pride ourselves on going all out when backing the boys in green and gold. After walking away with silver and gold in the Cape Town and Hong Kong legs of this year’s tournament, coach Philip Snyman’s men headed to Singapore more determined than ever to bring home the trophy.
Unfortunately, things abroad had not gone as planned as a setback in personnel forced the Olympic Bronze medalists to change their strategy.
The team had a difficult start to the weekend after suffering a 38-10 defeat to Great Britain in their opening game in pool A. The match also saw Sebastiaan Jobb get an early red card. Later, they found redemption by securing a narrow 26-24 victory over current series leaders Argentina.
On day two, the men in Green and Gold continued with their winning momentum with victories over the United States and Australia, however, the heavy defeat suffered at the hands of Great Britain appeared to have dented their chances of competing for the cup. In the end, they finished ninth over the weekend.
In his reflection on the weekend’s proceedings, coach Philip noted that inconsistency and lack of discipline were two of the biggest factors that cost his team.
“That first game against Great Britain really put us on the back foot, first with the early red card and then playing with only five players later on after a yellow card.”
“We need to address our discipline as it wasn’t up to standard with too many cards and too many penalties,” he added.
“I believe in this squad and the programme, but we need to be more consistent, which is why we’re not amongst the top three. We still made a massive step up from last season, though.”
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With the team now set to return home, they will soon set their sights on preparing for the Los Angeles leg of the series.
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