South Africa’s Sevens Captain Philip Snyman will run out for his 50th World Rugby Sevens Series tournament at the Sydney Sevens tournament that starts on Friday.
The 30-year-old made his debut for the Blitzboks in 2008 in Dubai and has been part of both squads that won the World Rugby Sevens Series titles, in the 2008/09 and 2016/17 seasons.
This time in 2017, the Blitzboks had set the tone for their successful season, having won the Dubai leg of the series and finished second at home in Cape Town before also winning in Sydney.
Snyman also led the Blitzboks to victory in 2017 when they beat their nemesis England 29-14 in the Australian leg.
While he is confident of success and with that personal milestone of 50 World Sevens Series tournament on the horizon, the Bok Captain and his squad know what matters most.
Snyman says, “I don’t care if it is your first tournament, your 10th tournament or your 50th tournament. You need to stick by the principles and goals you have set as a team. I must admit, up until now, I have not really put too much thought into it, but tonight at the jersey presentation I think it will be reality. But then you need to put that jersey away and you focus on the main things that you have set yourself as a team.”
Snyman joins an exclusive club of players who have reached the 50 tournament mark. Those include Kyle Brown, Cecil Afrika, Frankie Horne, Chris Dry and Branco du Preez, making him only the 6th player to tick that box.
“It’s a massive honour and privilege to play a 50th test on the Springbok jersey. Now, I just want to go out and hit the pitch and enjoy it with my brothers.”
With the Sevens Rugby World Cup coming up, a winning culture and momentum will be key for Snyman and his men ahead of the tournament in May.
For now though, the focus is on Sydney and Papua New Guinea first up on Friday.
