Throughout the annuals of history, no South African has ever had the honour of obtaining Olympic gold for our nation’s most beloved sport.
Rugby is the country’s greatest unifier, regardless of race, religion or creed, those who don the iconic green and gold are forever heralded as Mzansi heroes.
With the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics having begun yesterday, the Blitzboks have the opportunity to trek uncharted territory and achieve the unprecedented.
Having secured the last qualification spot by defeating Great Britain in the World Rugby Sevens Repechage final, they came into the Games as an underdog, with bookies placing them as the seventh favourite out of a total of 12 teams, firmly behind the likes of reigning champions Fiji, hosts France, and our eternal rivals, New Zealand.
Just as Francois Pienaar inspired a generation by leading South Africa to their first taste of the Web Ellis Trophy in 1995, the Blitzbokke have the opportunity to replicate that sentiment for sevens rugby.
The task at hand is made all the more difficult with their opening two games ending in defeat. Despite their best efforts, Ireland and the All Blacks were simply better.
South Africa kicked off their Olympic campaign against Ireland on July 24, suffering a 10–5 loss. That defeat was joined by another, as the Kiwis beat the Blitzboks 17–5 later that same evening.
Fortunately, South Africa has the chance to make amends. Qualification for the knockout phase is not yet in the rearview, with a convincing win over Japan standing between the Blitzboks and saying au revoir to Olympic glory.
We as a people expect the Bokke to secure a hard-earned victory regardless of the opponent, location or format, and at the Olympics, the grandest stage of all, the world will also be in attendance.
The task ahead can rightfully be viewed as daunting, with massive pressure to match our population’s wildest expectations.
And despite our Springboks Sevens having a year of turbulent results, including this very Olympics, when it comes to South African rugby, nothing is out of the realm of possibility.
Just as our former president Nelson Mandela famously said, “Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair.”
Tiaan Pretorious seeking glory in Paris, despite nightmare start
And no one arrived in France more hopeful than Tiaan Pretorius, nephew of HTS Middelburg alumni and Springbok fan favourite Kwagga Smith.
In an exclusive interview, Pretorius told the Observer, “I have always had the dream to represent my country, and to do so on the world’s biggest stage, I am honoured to be in this position.”
Pretorius, filled with confidence, made his motivation coming into the tournament clear, “The goal is always gold, otherwise what’s the point?”
This is Pretorius’ first foray into Olympic competition, with the path to Paris anything but smooth.
“The most memorable moment was when we finally secured qualification. We were devasted to miss out on an automatic spot last year, so to put that failure behind us was a huge moment for the team,” Pretorius emphasised.
Pretorius made it clear that there was no singular individual who helped him soar to such heights, “There have been so many people involved in my personal development throughout the years, but you will always have your idols, which in my case, is a family member,” he proudly said.
The Blitzboks are far from done and dusted, they still have it all to play for, “We always strive for perfection in what we do, training or playing. If we can keep on striving for that, only good things can come from it.”
• South Africa will face Japan at 16:00 later today.
• The full men’s sevens squad: Christie Grobbelaar, Ryan Oosthuizen, Impi Visser (Member of Tokyo 2021 Squad), Zain Davids (Member of Tokyo 2021 Squad), Quewin Nortje, Tiaan Pretorius, Shaun Williams, Selvyn Davids (Captain), Tristan Leyds, Rosko Specman (Member of Rio 2016 Squad), Siviwe Soyizwapi (Member of Tokyo 2021 Squad), and Shilton van Wyk. Ronald Brown (Member of Tokyo 2021 Squad) and Katlego Letebele are travelling reserves.
