The Blitzboks are confident that they are on the up, despite failing to win the South African Sevens tournament at Cape Town Stadium last weekend.
Coach Neil Powell’s charges had to be satisfied with bronze after being knocked out of the Cup tournament by Fiji at the quarterfinal stage.
They finished the tournament strong, though, beating New Zealand 10-5 in the third-place playoff.
And after only finishing sixth in the World Series opener in Dubai, Powell says that while they let themselves down at times, he is happy with the team’s progress.
He explains: “We finished sixth in Dubai where we played poorly in our first four matches.
FOCUSED: Sevens boss Neil Powell. Photo: CHRIS RICCO/BACKPAGEPIX
“We started picking up some momentum and I think we improved further this weekend.
“We let ourselves down at times, but we certainly finished in a much better state than last weekend. “This is a good, positive way to finish the second leg of the series, with some momentum to take into the next leg in Hamilton in late January.”
STRONG FINISH: Blitzboks' captain Philip Snyman. Photo: BACKPAGEPIX
Captain Philip Snyman adds: “We started that match [the bronze playoff against New Zealand] with only 10 players and played until the very last second of the match, something I am very proud of.
“Having conceded late tries against them [on Saturday] and against Fiji earlier on Sunday in the Cup semifinal, the guys proved their determination not to do so again.”
Winger Siviwe Soyizwapi agrees, saying: “We were competitive all along and had we play one of two moments better, we could have been smiling now.
ALL-STAR DISPLAY: Rosko Specman. Photo: RYAN WILKISKY/BACKPAGEPIX
“Six guys played here in Cape Town for the first time and they would have benefitted from this as well.
“As usual the crowd came out in massive numbers and it was an honour to play here.”
Meanwhile, Rosko Specman was the only Blitzbok named in the Cape Town Dream Team.
World Series Standings
1. USA 38
2. New Zealand 37
3. Fiji 35
4. England 30
5. South Africa 29