Blitzbokke to give it horns
The Springbok Sevens team are determined to turn things around in their home tournament in Port Elizabeth this weekend after a disappointing performance in Dubai which saw them lose to Australia in the Plate Final.
After downing series champions New Zealand on the opening day in Dubai the Blitzbokke were dumped out of the Cup competition by France in their quarterfinal, and had their hopes of salvaging some silverware in the Plate Final dashed by a last-gasp try by Australian Lewis Holland.
Coach Paul Treu said that although the team were not satisfied with the level of their performance last week it has not increased the pressure on them to lift some silverware in front of their home crowd as they expect to win every time they take the field.
“We are always under pressure to win and we approach every tournament with a winning attitude. We have let ourselves down by not playing to the standards we have set for ourselves,” said Treu.
Treu has called on his players to embrace the pressure that comes along with playing in front of an expectant home crowd this weekend, a sentiment that was echoed by captain Kyle Brown.
Brown said that the electric atmosphere expected in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium this weekend should spur his side on to greater things.
“We are going to focus on how to harness the good vibe in the Bay so that, hopefully, it can help us when we play on Friday and Saturday,” said the Blitzbokke skipper.
“We only play once in front of our own fans and we owe it to them and to ourselves to raise our standard of play.”
Brown has been impressed with the way some of the minnows of the game have managed to raise their game so far this season, which means that one-sided “walkover” have become few and far between.
“You can see that teams such as Japan, Portugal and Russia have now switched on differently in terms of their approach.
“The teams are more professional and it makes it harder for everyone, which is good for the game,” he said.
IRB Sevens Player of the Year, Cecil Afrika, said he was fit and ready to play after recovering from the rib injury which kept him from playing in the Dubai tournament last week.
“I’m good to go and hope to play to my part if selected,” said the South African Sevens playmaker.
“It’s nice to have a few guys in the squad with Eastern Cape roots, like myself, Chase Minnaar and Steven Hunt. Nothing beats the feeling of playing at home.”
