Record beckons for BlitzBoks in Dubai
South Africa’s BlitzBoks are looking to equal Fiji’s record of the most consecutive Cup titles in one country after winning five-straight in Hong Kong between 2015 and 2019.
They have won the past four Cup titles in Dubai and have dominated the Emirates Dubai 7s in recent times winning seven of the past nine tournaments since the 2014-15 Series.
They are the most successful team in the history of this event, winning the most Cup titles with 10, the joint-second most of any team in one country behind New Zealand who won 11 Cup titles in South Africa and 10 on home soil.
Nine nations have contested the Cup Final in Dubai, but four have never lifted the trophy – Ireland, Australia, USA and France.
There have only been two teams to win the Cup title in Dubai without topping their pool. New Zealand won the Cup Final in 2002 despite finishing second behind Samoa, while England repeated this effort in 2010 after finishing second behind Fiji.
Excluding the condensed 2021 Series, the last time the winner of the opening event of the season went on to be crowned Series champion was 2018 when South Africa won in Dubai, and then finished the 10-tournament season on top of the Series standings.
Eight of the 12 teams competing at the Emirates Dubai 7s have booked their place at Paris 2024 – France, New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, Australia, Ireland, USA and Samoa.
Argentina and Samoa will both be playing their 200th Series tournament, joining only Australia, Fiji, and South Africa to have achieved this milestone.
South Africa is the most successful team in the history of the Emirates Dubai 7s since the HSBC SVNS began in 1999-2000 with 10 Cup titles.
They only won two medals last season, the Cup title in Dubai and silver in Sydney, and finished seventh on the Series standings, the lowest placing in their history.
This was only the second time in their history they finished outside the top five after placing sixth in 2009-10.
They have won 23 of their past 24 matches in Dubai since the 2020 Series, with their only loss coming against Great Britain in the pool rounds last season.
They have reached the Cup quarterfinals at 22 of the 23 previous Series events in Dubai since 1999-2000, only failing to reach this stage of the tournament in 2012-13.
Scoring was an issue for the BlitzBoks, last season averaging 15.4 tries per tournament, their lowest average per event in a single season in their history.
That very first training jersey… Good luck Quewin and Katlego. #PoweredByUnity pic.twitter.com/BmZkwgKmPv
— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) November 29, 2023
South Africa has won just one of their past five Series matches against Samoa since the start of the 2022 Series after winning eight-straight between 2019 and 2020.
After winning 24-19 in Dubai last season, they could only score seven points in Cape Town and five points in Los Angeles against Samoa.
South Africa have never lost a Series match against Canada in Dubai, winning all five previous meetings by an average margin of 24 points.
Captain Selvyn Davids will lead the BlitzBoks for the first time in his 30th Series tournament. He only made two appearances for South Africa last season, in Hong Kong and Hamilton.
Shilton van Wyk was named HSBC Player of the Final in Dubai last season after scoring two tries from five carries against Ireland.
Argentina recorded their best placing in their history last season finishing second, and surpassing their previous highest of third in 2003/04 and are currently enjoying a 10-game winning streak against Spain, and will be chasing 11-straight victories in this fixture for the first time.
Australia is one of only three countries to have played a Cup Final in Dubai but never won, losing both against South Africa, 7-33 in 2014/15 and 7-10 on the 2022 Series.
New Zealand won their 14th HSBC SVNS title last season, wrapping up their crown at the second-to-last event of the season by reaching the Cup Final in Toulouse.
They reached the Cup final on seven occasions, lifting the tournament trophy five times.
