Coach Philip Snyman did not disguise his disappointment with the Blitzboks’ performance in the 2024-25 SVNS Series opener, finishing sixth in the Dubai 7s.
Snyman pinpointed the Springbok Sevens inablity to secure and keep the ball as the big work-on in the build up to the Cape Town tournament at DHL Stadium this week.
He said some aspects of their play in Dubai were satisfactory, such as finishing top of Pool A on day one. But two close defeats on Sunday, to New Zealand and France, did not sit well with him or the squad.
The 24-17 defeat to New Zealand in the quarter-finals meant the Blitzboks’ hopes of winning a sixth straight Dubao title went up in flames.
“We gave away so much possession, it is almost unreal,” he said. “We were the team with the least possession all tournament and that is already unacceptable, but to then also give the ball away when we have it, even more so.
“We also had a poor weekend with restart receipts and returned possession to opponents immediately because of that. There is no excuse for that, you just have to catch the ball, but we could not do that, something that is just not good enough and will be a work on this week.”
While Snyman admitted the defensive effort was also disappointing with a number of one-on-one tackles that were ineffective, he remained optimistic the Blitzboks will turn things around this week.
“We had a poor weekend in those three areas, but all of that can be improved on,” he said.
“We are a squad that don’t mind to put our heads down and work hard, so that is something we will improve on, I have no doubt about that.”
Snyman said they will invite some extra players to train with the team this week to make sure it is a “very competitive” environment.
“There were a number of players who excelled playing in the A-side and will have a case to make for selection,” he added.
“I remain confident in our group. Someone like Donavan Don really showed his abilities and that was exciting to see.”
In a change to the tournament format, the four winners of the pools will contest the Cape Town semi-finals on Sunday, making each pool game a must win.
Cape Town pools:
A: Fiji, Great Britain, Uruguay
B: Spain, Australia, Kenya
C: South Africa, Argentina, Ireland
D: New Zealand, France, USA
Photo: Christopher Pike/Getty Images
The post Snyman steams over ‘unacceptable’ Blitzboks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
