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Powell: BlitzBoks went big on D

By
Sunday 4 Dec 2016

And it was defence that won the day when South Africa beat Fiji, convincingly 26-14, in the Cup Final in Dubai at the weekend – the opening round of the 2016/17 Sevens World Series.

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BlitzBok coach Neil Powell praised the defensive effort of his team the Final and on Day Two – which also saw them beat Wales 36-5 in the semifinal and New Zealand 40-0 in the quarterfinal.

Powell said they needed to improve on that aspect of play, as it was poor on the opening day of the tournament on Friday.

"It worked well and showed how effective our defence can be when it is functionally properly, unlike Friday," the coach said after his team's win in the Final.

"We had a game plan for Fiji, as they are dangerous with offloads, so we needed to be in their faces.

"Credit to the guys, they executed perfectly."

Powell was pleased with their performance in the Final.

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"It was a really great performance against Fiji.

"We played Fiji five times last year and won three times, so have an idea how to best contain them. You have to keep it structured."

Powell realises the pressure will build on the side to repeat the performance in Cape Town this coming weekend (Saturday, December 10 and Sunday, December 11), when the BlitzBoks will defend their Cape Town Sevens title in Round Two of the World Series.

"We will have pressure this week, but the key for us will be to return to zero as soon as possible," Powell said.

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"We need to start all over again. It will take another massive effort to defend our title in Cape Town."

Player of the Tournament, Seabelo Senatla, said it was important for the team to start the season well and for himself not to rest on his laurels after being named World Rugby Sevens Player of 2016.

"It was a big one for me last year, but I needed to start all over again," DSenatla said.

"I am very happy what we did this weekend.

"These guys were awesome and continued to keep feeding me in space, hats off to all on my inside that are doing all the hard work," he added.

* South Africa v Fiji, Dubai: FULL MATCH REPLAY!

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