Home

Blitzboks set to face tough opponents in Sydney Sevens

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The World Rugby Sevens Series defending champions, South Africa, are in a fairly tough group for the Sydney Sevens this weekend.

They will be up against Tonga, Argentina and Australia in Pool D.

After a physically tough run in Hamilton last weekend, the Blitzboks will be looking to bounce back in Sydney.

The Blitzboks struggled against the physically stronger sides after a flawless run in Pool C. They beat Samoa in the quarterfinals, only to be hammered by Fiji in the semis.

The Islanders beat the Blitzboks 29-7.

The Blitzboks went on to lose the third-place playoff match by the same scoreline against New Zealand.

Justin Geduld, who was in doubt for this trip after a knee surgery in December, is confident that the Blitzboks will bounce back and land on their feet after a slower than usual start to the series.

“I’m very positive for being here, very grateful for the opportunity. I’m just here to contribute to the team. In the game it’s just few things that let us down and I think we looked at it and came back today and worked on it. It looked a lot better and we are looking forward to the weekend to out there and improve ourselves,” says Geduld.

The Blitzboks will face Tonga, Argentina and Australia respectively in Pool D. All these three sides are physically strong like Fiji and New Zealand.

Geduld is optimistic though. The 25-year-old flyhalf is not a two-time HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series winner for nothing.

“Experience counts a lot. Most of us have been here before, even worse situations before. I think for the new guys it’s very difficult. So it’s for the experienced guys to be there and guide them along, not to go down or to be negative,” says Geduld.

After an average performance on defence in Hamilton last weekend, the Blitzboks have been working hard in sweltering and humid conditions in Sydney this week.

Springbok Sevens Assistant Coach, Renfred Dazel, feels the knock-out punch of the past is lacking.

“It’s good for us to have a balance between the senior players and the youngsters. Before the season started, we knew we were going to lose four five senior players, your Roscos, Kwaggas, Seabelo. There is a lot of talent. We just need to find the right method to get the guys going, especially the last two three minutes in the tournament,” says Dazel.

Sixteen teams will contest the HSBC Sydney-Sevens at Spotless Stadium in the fourth of 10 tournaments on the World Series.

Author

MOST READ