The Blitzboks will probably be amongst 4 groups chasing the World Rugby Sevens Series crown at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles on Saturday and Sunday.
South Africa (124 factors), Australia (122), Argentina (118) and Fiji (104) all have an opportunity to clinch the World Series title.
Blitzboks reside scores
Saturday, 27 August:
18h20: USA
21h26: Canada
Sunday 28 August
00h59: New Zealand
Blitzbok squad
On the fringe of glory
However, for Blitzbok coach Neil Powell, the equation to retain the LA Sevens and World Series titles is easy.
“We will focus on one match at a time and for us that is the opening pool game against the USA,” Powell stated.
“Yes, it is a very tough pool, starting with America, then Canada and then New Zealand, they are three tough teams, who all play totally different from each other and can beat any team on any day.
“America will be tough in front of their home crowd, but we always target the first game to set the standard.”
The final time the Blitzboks performed, in the ultimate of the Commonwealth Games, they delivered a flawless efficiency, however Powell stated it is a new match with new calls for: “The Commonwealth Games was close to perfect, but that is in the past. At least we know what our standards can be now, so it is up to us to repeat that.”
Every week of laborious work in Los Angeles has the Blitzboks perked up for the weekend.
“It has been a good week for us and there is nice cohesion in the team, the guys are really enjoying each other’s company and that is always a positive going into a tournament,” based on Powell.
The subject periods additionally delivered extra smiles than groans from the coach, who will probably be accountable for the Blitzboks for the final time in a World Series match.
“We had some issues in our preparation back home, with the weather not great in Cape Town and us losing Lubabalo Dobela and Mfundo Ndhlovu in the final week due to injury, but the effort since we arrived here was really good. From that perspective it was a really good week,” he stated.
The withdrawals of Dobela and Ndhlovu handed a possibility to Darren Adonis and Shilton van Wyk, who’ve skilled podium finishes with the Blitzboks throughout this yr’s sequence.
“Yes, they will enjoy the opportunity to be playing again,” stated Powell.
“Darren might be slightly unfamiliar with the flyhalf role, but he is a very talented player and have the skill set to play there, not only in this tournament, but in the future as well. Both will be good to go, and I expect good things from them.”
Adapted from SA Rugby media launch.
Blitzboks’ pool schedule (SA instances, all matches on SuperSport):
1. Sako Makata – 15 tournaments, 63 matches, 55 factors (11 tries)
2. Ryan Oosthuizen – 31 tournaments, 146 matches, 150 factors (30 tries)
3. James Murphy – 9 tournaments, 35 matches, 30 factors (6 tries)
4. Zain Davids – 32 tournaments, 162 matches, 160 factors (32 tries)
5. Angelo Davids – 8 tournaments, 44 matches, 155 factors (31 tries)
6. JC Pretorius – 19 tournaments, 99 matches, 210 factors (42 tries)
7. Branco du Preez – 81 tournaments, 411 matches, 1426 factors (100 tries, 460 conversions, 1 penalty objective, 1 drop objective)
8. Darren Adonis – six tournaments, 22 matches, 52 factors (10 tries, 1 conversion)
9. Shaun Williams – six tournaments, 25 matches, 72 factors (12 tries, 6 conversions)
10. Dewald Human – 17 tournaments, 76 matches, 211 factors (17 tries, 63 conversions)
11. Siviwe Soyizwapi (captain) – 39 tournaments, 204 matches, 655 factors (131 tries)
12. Muller du Plessis – 18 tournaments, 87 matches, 305 factors (61 tries)
13. Shilton van Wyk – 3 tournaments; 12 matches, 20 factors (4 tries)