Blitzbokke to 'make it count'

 

They go into their home tournament as both defending champions and top seeds, having won an emotionally charged tournament at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium last year which came shortly after the death of national icon Nelson Mandela.

 

They were in dominant form in Round Two of the Sevens World Series in Dubai last weekend, which captain Kyle Brown ranks as one of their most clinical performances.

 

"The way that we handled all the knockout matches and the way that we played ranks pretty high up there as one of our most clinical performances. 

 

"To beat Argentina 36-0, New Zealand 28-0 which was particularly enjoyable and then to beat Australia in the final, the guys really showed their character and showed that they had a little bit more in them," he said.

 

Brown added that the key will be to make the most of this momentum and deliver another home victory in Port Elizabeth which would put them on top of the standings.

 

"I know the crowds will be up for this, they will be raring to go and especially after last year in Port Elizabeth which was a great tournament for us.

 

"Very few teams get to play at home on this circuit and I think we are very privileged so we have got to make it count," he said.

 

The experienced Brown was used as an impact player off the bench by coach Neil Powell in Dubai, and said that he hopes to play a more prominent role in Port Elizabeth.

 

"I really enjoyed the role of playing off the bench and it makes it easier when you have guys like Kwagga Smith who scored a hat-trick in the semifinal [against New Zealand]. 

 

"The coach is still phasing me in and I still feel like a bit of a loose cannon out there, but hopefully by next week I will be able to make a bit more of an impact," he added.

 

Powell said that it was important to bounce back from the disappointment of finishing fourth in the first round on the Gold Coast, and added that qualification for the Olympics in Rio is the furthest thing from their mind at the moment.

 

"It was an awesome performance from the boys from the first game to the final, so obviously we are very happy and glad that they came back after a fairly disappointing tournament on the Gold Coast.

 

"It is always nice to be at home in front of your home crowd so hopefully we can take this momentum into Port Elizabeth and be successful there as well.

 

"We actually don't want to talk about Rio, we are just focusing on one tournament at a time and I think the guys did really well in this tournament because we took it one game at a time," he said.