"Challenge will be real' says BlitzBoks coach

NEWS: The BlitzBoks are aware of the mammoth task at hand at the HSBC SVNS in Perth following the pool draw on Thursday.

The Springbok Sevens team is drawn with current series champions, Argentina, hosts Australia, and a resurgent USA side to be played at the Perth Stadium from January 24-26.

Coach Philip Snyman confirmed the announcement of the pool draws made everything ‘real’.

“We came back into camp on 2 January with a clear understanding that we are building again,” said Snyman.

“The Cape Town win, as awesome as it was for us in front of our home crowd, is in the past, the holidays are done, but not so the hard work for the rest of the year, including Perth.

“Seeing the pool today was a final confirmation that the challenge will be real, but also the knowledge that we are already a week in towards the next goal, to do well in Perth.”

Some beach bodies starting the @SVNSSeries prep with no beach in sight…..#PoweredByUnity pic.twitter.com/QphNMENGyl

— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) January 3, 2025

The BlitzBok coach said playing in front of a home crowd remains a special feeling and that the Aussies will have that advantage in Perth, while the BlitzBoks edged Argentina in their previous encounter in Cape Town.

“The USA remains a tough team, wherever you play them, so the pool is certainly a tough one,” he said.

Snyman indicated that he will continue with blooding new players as he is rebuilding his squad towards the next Olympics, while some niggles are impacting the preparations of players such as Tristan Leyds, who was a stand-out in Cape Town.

“It was nice to have the likes of Ryan Oosthuizen, Selvyn Davids, and Ronald Brown back at training though after they all missed Cape Town due to injury as they are all experienced players and will widen my options for selecting a side to Perth.

“The fact that we know what is waiting on that side will also help,” Snyman said.

The BlitzBoks will depart for Perth on January 19.