'Teamwork and unity' for Brown's boys
Springbok captain Kyle Brown spoke of ‘teamwork and unity’ as his squad prepared for a semifinal showdown with New Zealand at the Las Vegas leg of the 2011/12 IRB Sevens World Series.
The Blitzbokke, defending champions in Vegas, must overcome the series leaders New Zealand – after both teams advanced to the last four.
Brown’s team eliminated Argentina 24-5 in their quarterfinal match, after they had won their final pool match 33-5 against France.
Brown scored his 50th World Series try in his team’s convincing victory over a very physical Argentine side.
Steven Hunt, Cecil Afrika and Branco du Preez also scored tries for the Blitzbokke, while Argentina managed to reply through Diego Palma.
Brown said afterwards his team was looking forward to play against the Kiwis, saying: “Las Vegas is a happy hunting ground for us and we have a very good spirit in our camp.
“Our keywords the past week have been team work and unity and so I am happy with how things have worked out for us so far.
“Every match is really tough, but fortunately this tournament is stretched over three days, which give you a bit more time to recover.
“New Zealand is the top side in the series, they play a good style and we are looking forward to measure us against them,” Brown added.
Although coach Paul Treu rested several of his regulars for their final pool match against France, the Blitzbokke still managed to win comfortably by 33-5.
Mark Richards, Chris Dry, Cornal Hendricks, Brown and Bernado Botha all scored tries for the 2011 Las Vegas winners.