The Blitzboks arrived in Singapore this week with a fresh mind and effort, but also with a clear mission – to finish the regular sevens season with an performance that will do justice to the team, country and the badge on their chests. 

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SIVIWE SOYIZWAPI: ‘WE HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN’

That was the clear message from Siviwe Soyizwapi as the Blitzboks completed a solid training session in a hot and humid Singapore, where they are hoping to repeat the glories of 2004 and 2019, when they left the National Stadium as champions.

“Each tournament has its own merits and you literally have to start all over again,” said the former Blitzboks skipper said.

“Same here in Singapore, where we arrived with a fresh focus. We sat down after the Hong Kong tournament, cleared the air and then left that behind.

“You can’t assume things or aspects of play will go well just because it did so in a previous tournament, you need to start from scratch again. You might think there is doom and gloom but there is not, as we will go into this weekend with a mindset that things can be done, that we have a system that works and a process that can be trusted.”

Soyizwapi has successfully transitioned from wing into the forwards in recent tournaments for the Blitzboks and is still scoring tries as a prop and hooker. He dotted down twice in Hong Kong and with 156 tries to his name, he is closing in on 800 career points in his 59th tournament.

ZANDER REYNDERS: TAKING IT ALL IN HIS STRIDE

On the other side of the Blitzboks scale is Zander Reynders, who is hoping to score his first try in the fifth tournament of his career.

The lanky forward, who made his debut in Cape Town, where the Blitzboks claimed gold, and said the journey has been very rewarding and he is keen to contribute.

“I am learning so much from everyone,” said Reynders.

“Luckily for me, amongst the forwards, we have a couple of guys that have played 50 plus tournaments, for the Blitzboks, so I can tap into their experience all the time and that is great. They have been of great help as well, always willing to assist.”

Reynders made a couple of starts for the Blitzboks in Hong Kong, having played off the bench before that, something that has added to his desire to contribute to the team.

“There is just a wonderful culture of caring and sharing in the squad and it is almost inevitable that you would like to respond to that,” said the Blitzboks newcomer, who completed his degree in computer engineering last year.

“I can do that by delivering my best effort every time I step onto the field. This is a fantastic journey for me and I am so happy to be part of this. For now, I am hoping to stay in this system as I really feel at home with this group of people and their values.”

BLITZBOKS’ POOL B FIXTURES (SA TIMES):

Friday, 28 March
Blitzboks vs Uruguay – 11:56am
Blitzboks vs Australia – 2:39pm

Saturday, 5 April
Blitzboks vs Great Britain – 7:26am
Blitzboks vs Argentina – 10:44am

BLITZBOKS SQUAD FOR SINGAPORE SEVENS:

Ryan Oosthuizen, Impi Visser (co-captain), Zain Davids, Ricardo Duarttee, Selvyn Davids (co-captain), Dewald Human, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Shilton van Wyk, Donavan Don, Sebastiaan Jobb, David Brits, Zander Reynders, Tristan Leyds.

HOW WELL DO YOU THINK THE BLITZBOKS WILL DO IN SINGAPORE?

Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.

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Src: TheSouthAfrican.com - https://rugga.co.za/blitzboks/heres-when-the-blitzboks-will-be-in-action-in-singapore/