Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell was bummed his team missed out on the Cape Town Sevens title in their final defeat to New Zealand.
The Kiwis edged the Blitzboks 7-5 to deny the hosts their home crown and are now tied with SA at the top of the World Rugby Sevens Series standings, after South Africa claimed the title in Dubai last weekend when they beat NZ in the final.
NO FAULTS: Coach Neil Powell is proud of his squad. Picture: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix.
Coach Powell says: “We had two good weeks, playing in two finals and winning one.
“That is a much better start than last season and bar the two lineouts we fluffed in the final, we had a good tournament. I certainly cannot fault the effort of the players.
“It is unfortunate that we could not pull this one through as the Cape Town crowd has been amazing and we would have loved nothing more than winning in front of them.”
EFFORT: Siviwe Soyizwapi says the Blitzbokke put in the effort and it shows. Picture: Kamran Jebreili/AP.
Springbok Sevens captain Siviwe Soyizwapi said the margins of error in finals are tighter than ever this season.
He says: “The difference between the two sides was that New Zealand had one opportunity to score and they did, but we had at least three and only used one.
“It was a tough tournament physically for us, so it would have been nice if we could top the effort with another win, especially in Cape Town, which is by far my favourite tournament.
“But two finals in two tournaments cannot be faulted and was just reward for the effort the squad put in.”
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— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s)