Blitzboks head coach, Philip Snyman, says he is more than happy with the way South Africa concluded the Sevens season. The Springbok Sevens A squad clinched the Rugby Africa Sevens Cup in Port Louis, Mauritius, on Sunday.
The Blitzboks were also crowned the World Sevens Champions in Los Angeles in May.
After the Blitzboks’ success at the World Sevens Championships, the Bok Sevens A side also wanted to show their worth.
They beat defending champions, Uganda, 26-nil in the quarter-finals, and then advanced to the final with a 19-12 victory over Zimbabwe.
The South Africans then faced a very physical Madagascar for the title. After enjoying a 21-7 lead at half-time, South Africa finally won it 26-12 to add another piece of silverware to the trophy chest.
But for coach Philip Snyman, competing at the tournament was about more than just winning.
“Definitely not perfect, but definitely all the answers that we came to get out of this tournament. A good tournament, especially with all the youngsters we had, building depth in our squad. We know they need to play a certain number of tournaments before they are ready, and also some guys need game time. So overall happy, and I think the standard was good.”
Sebastian Jobb and Mfundo Ndhlovu were in charge of the team in Mauritius. Jobb says all their goals were achieved – winning was just the cherry on top.
“Just happy to get the medal at the end of the day. First-place finish, massive system effort. Really thankful for the boys. Obviously, Mfundo helped a lot with him being co-captain. Just incredibly proud of the boys.”
Next season, the World Sevens Series sees another controversial format change.
Teams will compete in three divisions, instead of two, while the number of teams in Division 1, where the Blitzboks will play, was reduced from 12 to eight.
They will play in six Series events, followed by three World Championship tournaments.
