Blitzboks target ‘return to winning ways’ at Sevens Grand Final in Madrid

The Blitzboks will hope to turn back the clock when they compete at this weekend’s inaugural Sevens Grand Final in Madrid, where the most recent series’ top eight teams will be in action.

The SA Sevens team will play in Pool B against Ireland, New Zealand and Fiji. The top two teams after pool play will advance to the semi-finals, with there not being a quarter-finals round at this elite eight-team competition.

Pool A is made up of Argentina, Australia, France and Great Britain.

The Blitzboks have had something of a nightmare season, with their results nowhere near the standard they have set for themselves in the game over several years, when they won numerous tournaments, picked up series titles and their players were hailed among the very best in the game.

They have also failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics in a few months’ time, losing out in the automatic placings, but also at a tournament held in Kenya earlier this year. They will now have one last chance to punch their ticket to Paris when they take part in a qualifying tournament in Monaco next month.

‘Win all matches’

“To win here in Madrid and become the Grand Final champion, you need to win all of your matches – it’s as simple as that,” said coach Philip Snyman, who took over as team boss from Sandile Ndlovu during the 2023/24 campaign.

“In a month’s time, in order for us to get the ticket to the Paris Olympics, you need to win all your matches. So where better to get into that mindset than here?”

Snyman added he felt the team were close to returning to their best form.

“We have done well by winning our pools in both Hong Kong and Singapore, only to mess up in the quarter-finals,” he said.

“We need that edge again that will win us the knock-out games too. It is no use to be able to beat anyone on the circuit, like we can, only to come up short in the playoffs.”

Snyman tweaked the team’s defensive strategy, which is something they focused on in the last couple of weeks: “We all know how dangerous this team can be with ball in hand, but we needed to be better in other aspects of the game and I think we have turned that around.

“There is enough experience in the squad, and play-making abilities, too; we now need to find the correct combinations for Monaco too.”

Monaco event

The Blitzbok coach is keen to use Madrid as a front-runner to the important tournament in Monaco.

“We are playing Ireland, New Zealand and Fiji, who have all qualified for Paris already, so they will not have that on their minds,” said Snyman.

“For us, the Monaco tournament will be crucial, but in saying that, what happens here in Madrid will lay the foundation for Monaco, so it is very important to get it right here this weekend … and for us to return to winning ways.”

All eight teams in the Grand Finale will complete their pool games on Friday and Saturday, with the top two sides from each pool progressing to the semi-finals on Sunday.

Grand Finale pools:

A: Argentina, Australia, France, Great Britain
B: Ireland, New Zealand, Fiji, South Africa

Blitzbok pool fixtures (live on SuperSport)

Friday, 31 May:
2.37pm: Ireland

Saturday 1 June:
12.44pm: New Zealand
3.49pm: Fiji