‘Time to start believing’ — Philip Snyman thrilled to see Blitzboks make Olympic semis

Blitzboks coach Philip Snyman was probably the most unsurprised person in the Stade de France on Thursday night after his side stunned New Zealand in the Olympic Games Sevens tournament quarterfinals to progress to the medal matches.

The Blitzboks were in danger of not progressing to the quarters after a difficult first day saw them fall to defeats against Ireland and New Zealand in their first two pool games on Wednesday.

However in their third pool game on Thursday afternoon they crushed Japan 49-5 to sneak into the knockouts as the eighth seed, edging Samoa out on points difference, after they both finished the pool stage with five points each.

The Blitzboks were also the last team to qualify for the Olympics, having to go the long way by winning the repechage tournament in Monaco last month, and heading into the Games there weren’t high expectations placed on them, after they had a difficult season on the Sevens World Series.

True South African fashion

But in true South African fashion, the Blitzboks showed grit, fight, character and determination to squeeze into the quarterfinals and then upset a fancied New Zealand team who reached the last eight unbeaten.

In the week leading up to the Games Snyman explained how important their defensive effort would be if they wanted to progress as far as possible in the tournament, and that has proved to be the case so far.

Even in their defeats, 10-5 to Ireland and 17-5 to New Zealand in the pool stage, their defence was solid, but they were unable to put enough pressure on the opposition with ball in hand.

However, they turned that around on day two, running in seven tries while conceding just one against Japan, when they knew just how important points difference would be to progress, and then defending like demons in the quarterfinal against New Zealand to secure a 14-7 win.

They showed their skill on attack with two superb tries in the first half, and could have had a third in the second only for a knock on over the line, but it was their impeccable defence that kept New Zealand out despite wave after wave of attacks, that shone brightest in the playoff.

After the match Snyman admitted that when they had reached the quarterfinals he had told the players to start believing, as he knew something special was possible.

Start believing

“I said before the game, after the guys made it to the quarterfinals, that it was time to start believing, because from the get go, I didn’t say it out loud, but I truly believed in these guys,” said Snyman.

“Day one wasn’t perfect, but they really came out to play today. On day one our defence was good, but we couldn’t get hold of the ball. But today the defence system worked really well and when we had ball in hand we capitalised.

“We even left one or two tries out there, so it still wasn’t perfect, but just the way the guys fought for the system, the jersey and the whole of South Africa, I am really proud of them and they deserve to be in the semifinals.”

The Blitzboks will now face hosts France in a massive semifinal in front of their passionate home fans, with the game set to be reminiscent of the Springboks’ quarterfinal win over France at the same stadium during last year’s World Cup.

France also struggled in the pool stage, only beating Uruguay, while drawing against USA and losing to Fiji, but they turned it on in the quarters to beat Argentina, who enjoyed a superb year on the Sevens World Series, 26-14, with 15s star Antoine Dupont scoring a cheeky try to see out the win.

The other semifinalists are Olympic defending champs Fiji and Australia, who are the only two unbeaten sides remaining after they cruised through the pool stage, before Fiji were made to work hard by Ireland to make it through with a 19-15 win, while Australia comfortably beat USA 18-0.

Olympic Games Sevens Semifinals:

Saturday

Blitzboks v France – 3:30pm

Fiji v Australia – 4pm