BlitzBoks shake off rustiness in Stellies
The squad opened up with a 29-0 win over Western Province, then outplayed Zimbabwe 38-0 before beating Western Province Invitational 33-0 in their final match of the day.
Weather conditions were not ideal during the day, with an unexpected hailstorm temporarily halting play in their third match, but the South African national side took all of it in their stride.
All but Ryan Kankowski, Philip Snyman, Cecil Afrika, Francois Hougaard and Ruhan Nel took part in the three matches. They are all carrying minor niggles.
The performances of previously injured players like Cheslin Kolbe (concussion), Juan de Jongh (back), Werner Kok (knee) and Branco du Preez (contusion) was of particular interest, and no one disappointed. They all scored impressive tries, although the best one's of the day from an individual perspective, belonged to Siviwe Soyizwapi, who had a couple of long runs to the line.
Bryan Habana also showed up well in his involvement in all three matches.
Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell was very pleased after the day's play.
"We wanted to test a number of new things we did in training and especially at kick-offs, it worked. The conditions weren't great and that impacted on our attack and defence.
"With the ball so wet, no team could really take it wide, so it was easier to defend against. On attack again, the slippery ball was a problem. Overall I am pretty pleased though. I saw some good things out there and the way we played in our second match, against Zimbabwe, was pretty good."
Powell hopes to see more on attack from his squad on Saturday, when weather conditions are expected to be better.
"The field will still be wet, no doubt, but at least the ball will be dry and that will give us more options on how we want to attack. The same with the opponents and that will in turn be a good test on defence, so I am looking forward to Day Two," Powell said.
The action on day two will be bulked up by 16 club teams from Western Province.
SA Results:
Springboks Sevens 33-0 Western Province
Springbok Sevens 38-0 Zimbabwe
Springbok Sevens 33-0 Western Province Invitational
