It might look less glamorous to the regular sevens fan, but Springbok Sevens forward David Brits confirmed that it is just as rewarding to win the set-piece battle that will lead to an amazing try as it is to score the try itself.
Brits were hard at work preparing with the Blitzboks for the HSBC SVNS New York this week, again happy to do the donkey work instead of being the racehorse.
“The forwards really don’t mind doing the hard yards up front,” the 28-year-old explained. “We have such talented backs, and we know that when we provide them with decent possession, they will make magic out wide.”
Ironically, as an outside back in fifteens, Brits had scored his fair share of tries, and he held the Carling Currie Cup aloft with the Toyota Cheetahs, but that is a long way away from his current destiny.
“It took me a while to find my feet in sevens; it is such a tricky game, and I am still learning,” said Brits.
“For now, it is going well, and I am truly grateful for that. The fact that I have played in all the tournaments this far also got me into the flow of things, and I am really enjoying it.”
The Blitzboks are also happy to have Brits around, it seems. The former Junior Springbok has been collecting gold medals along his journey and was on the winners’ podium in four of the last six tournaments they played. He has won five tournament titles since making his debut in Perth in 2024, all of 14 tournaments ago.
So, onto the USA leg, where they won the HSBC SVNS World Championship last year, in Los Angeles, and according to Brits, the entire squad, and especially the forwards, are ready: “We know that every scrum and lineout we win, and every breakdown we contest successfully will give the ball to our backs, and then the fun starts.
“I can honestly say all our forwards have the same mindset about doing the donkey work. So, it does not really matter who is on the field; we all have the same goals.”
Brits, Ryan Oosthuizen and Impi Visser all scored some impressive tries in Vancouver as well.
“Yes, it is always nice to see the forwards getting tries. Impi scored two spectacular ones, and it was very nice to see that he still has it,” Brits recalled with a smile.
They will miss the injured Christie Grobbelaar, but Brits punted Jayden Nell, who arrived on Tuesday and had his first session with the squad already.
“Christie brings a lot of speed to the forwards, but Jayden is the same type of player, and I know he will do well,” said Brits.
“He has been training with us all this time, so he knows the ins and outs. As with Grant (de Jager) we just need to make sure he stays calm, and all will be good.”
The Blitzboks’ objective for the weekend is clear: “We want to go back-to-back. I know Perth and Vancouver were successive, but we want to return home with back-to-back wins. I have not done it before, and a couple of other players too, so we are here to win, not to compete.”