Seabelo Senatla started his weekend with a hat-trick. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
The Blitzboks picked up where they left off from last season as they began the defence of their World Sevens Series title with an unbeaten start to the new campaign’s Dubai tournament.
It was probably to be expected as Neil Powell’s squad boasts envious continuity and a clear vision.
With victories over Uganda (19-12), Kenya (48-5) and Canada (28-0), South Africa booked themselves a cup quarterfinal against Samoa.
Those scorelines suggest they didn’t have many problems to contend with.
But that wasn’t quite the truth.
In the build-up to tournament, there were some question marks over how quickly stars in the fifteen-man game would switch back to the short form of the game.
For the first time in their careers, Seabelo Senatla and Kwagga Smith had actually played more fifteens than sevens this year.
Rustiness was very much evident in a surprisingly scrambling win over the gutsy Ugandans.
Senatla dropped a sitter of a pass with the tryline at his mercy and also conceded a penalty.
In turn, Smith struggled initially with the pace of proceedings and lacked physicality.
Yet a wily coach like Powell wouldn’t have put his trust in that duo if he wasn’t convinced they’d fit in quickly again.
And so it proved.
Senatla galloped to a hat-trick in the mauling of Kenya, showing off his unmatched predatory instincts and Smith was in the thick of things again as Canada were blanked out.
Perhaps more importantly, the Blitzboks’ recipe remains a winning one.
Aggressive defence and the pestering of opponents at the breakdown continues to provide them with numerous opportunities on the counter.
And the vaunted bench continues to make a telling impact, with Werner Kok and Rosko Specman particularly prominent.
It all looks very rosy again.
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