VIDEO: Snyman opens up on 'rocky road' to bronze
SPOTLIGHT: It has been a treacherous road since Philip Snyman took over as head coach of the South Africa Sevens team in March 2024.
Snyman replaced Sandile Ngcobo and was tasked with not only overturning some disastrous World SVNS Series form but also leading the side to qualify for the Olympics in Paris.
Unlike in previous years at the 2016 and 2020 Games, the BlitzBoks failed to qualify automatically.
Eventually, they booked the final Olympic spot after beating Great Britain in a repechage tournament in Monaco.
Seeded 12th out of the 12 teams, the BlitzBoks were grouped in a challenging pool with Ireland, New Zealand and Japan.
They lost the first two fixtures but eventually showed great character and beat Australia 26-19 in a thrilling bronze medal match.
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“Last to qualify, a rocky road,” Snyman said at the Cape Town International Airport when asked about the season.
“Then also not the greatest start for us in the tournament, losing our first two matches [against Ireland and New Zealand].”
The 37-year-old admitted it took some harsh words and introspection to realign the side after the two opening defeats.
“Everybody was down and we had a really hard team talk.
“I don’t think I will say the exact words I used in that team meeting, but we looked each other in the eye and there were some honest calls,” Snyman admitted.
“We told each other this is not us, we are a better team than this.
“There were some good defence on Day One, so we took the positives. We just had to make sure we were getting more ball in hand, more clinical and convert our opportunities.
“And let’s start to get the belief in the team and that starts with the individual. It was about getting yourself in the right mindset and then the team can strive.
“They reacted quite well after that and played some good rugby.”
#AUDIO! At 35 he shows no sign of slowing down.
“I want to make everything double, double, double!” #rugby #news #sports @Blitzboks @Olympics https://t.co/DygADW2D1m— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) July 31, 2024
After scraping through to the play-offs there was very little hope for the BlitzBoks.
However, with their backs against the wall, they produced a massive upset, beating New Zealand 14-7 in the quarterfinals, an encounter the coach labelled as his side’s game of the tournament.
“The quarterfinal against favourites of the tournament New Zealand was for me personally our game of the tournament.
“The guys put points on the board and for the last five minutes, they defended like I’ve never seen.
“So I’m really proud and they showed a lot of character. They deserve to have smiles on their faces.
“I believe this is just the start for the BlitzBoks team.”
He added: “We were the underdogs and written off by a lot of people.
“But these guys showed what exactly the BlitzBoks want to stand for.
“We want to inspire hope and we want to do the best we can. Always play our hearts out for that jersey.
“I think the games against New Zealand, they played for South Africa and hopefully we inspired a lot of youngsters.”
Syman was part of the 2016 BlitzBoks team who secured the bronze in Rio and eight years later he coached the team to their second bronze.
“In 2016 we were favourites and then lost against Great Britain our bogey team in the semifinals. Then we had quite an easy route to win the bronze medal.
“And this time around we had to beat Great Britain to qualify for the Olympics and had to fight for every inch.
“We really worked hard for this and the previous one we actually thought we deserved more.
“But when you look back now, any medal at the Olympic games is special and one must not take anything for granted.”
And while it is yet to be confirmed if Snyman will take over as the official head coach of the BlitzBoks, the leading contender for the role is very optimistic about the new season which kicks off in Dubai following a month’s rest.
“You can coach game plan, work on skills, do strength and conditioning but effort and character are things you can’t coach.
“And the guys showed they have it. So, I’m really confident in this group of guys and if you produce that consistently, there is no reason why we can’t be more consistent on the podium.”
