Getting it right five times out of six was a good reflection of the standards the Springbok Sevens set for themselves in 2026, but the most valuable lesson was to make sure you start from zero every time.
With that in mind, the Blitzboks will tackle the Cathay/HSBC SVNS Hong Kong tournament this weekend with the baseline of setting their own standards and playing accordingly.
That is the view of Philip Snyman, who made it all happen for the Blitzboks in recent seasons, as the coach elevated the SA sevens team to become the inaugural HSBC SVNS World Champions last year and, more recently, won the overall HSBC SVNS Series.
The Blitzboks made the semi-finals in five of the six tournaments and won four, which was very close to achieving their target of making the top four in every tournament.
“We did the reset, and we are ready for what Hong Kong will throw at us,” Snyman said on the eve of the first of three World Championship events. “We had a good week, worked hard, and we are ready to play.”
Snyman said the key to that reset after every tournament was to reflect and analyse what they did well and why it worked for them.
“We also realised that something you did well in the previous tournament does not automatically carry over into the next; you have to start again, as you just cannot expect things to happen. You need to work very hard to make sure your standards are the highest it can be,” he said.
They laid out their standards at the start of the season and always started from there, Snyman explained: “We have five fundamentals that we base our season on, and we have experienced success when those are non-negotiable on the day.
“Effort and attitude, combined with those fundamentals, brought us far this year. But we start afresh, knowing it will take an exceptional effort to be successful this weekend.”
All three of their pool opponents are Spanish-speaking teams and play in a very similar way, but that analysis will not bear fruit if the Blitzboks are not switched on, Snyman said.
“Discipline will be key again,” he said. “We don’t want to lose any players due to cards, and when we have the ball in hand, we need to keep that possession. The players are focused and ready.”
Pools:
A: South Africa, Argentina, Spain, Uruguay
B: Fiji, France, Great Britain, Germany
C: New Zealand, Australia, Kenya, USA
Blitzboks pool schedule (all matches live on SuperSport, SA times)
Friday, 17 April
05h16 Uruguay
08h49 Spain
Saturday, 18 April
06h13 Argentina
Springbok Sevens squad for Hong Kong:
#2 Ryan Oosthuizen – 62 tournaments, 270 points (54 tries)
#3 Impi Visser (captain) – 50 tournaments, 240 points (48 tries)
#4 Zain Davids – 57 tournaments, 255 points (51 tries)
#7 Ronald Brown – 24 tournaments, 491 points (51 tries, 118 conversions)
#8 Selvyn Davids – 46 tournaments, 766 points (102 tries, 128 conversions, 1 penalty goal)
#11 Siviwe Soyizwapi – 64 tournaments, 800 points (160 tries)
#12 Shilton van Wyk – 32 tournaments, 355 points (71 tries)
#14 Quewin Nortje – 12 tournaments, 160 points (32 tries)
#15 Donavan Don – 14 tournaments, 113 points (21 tries, 4 conversions)
#16 Sebastiaan Jobb – 8 tournaments, 70 points (14 tries)
#19 David Brits – 15 tournaments, 60 points (12 tries)
#24 Tristan Leyds – 17 tournaments, 193 points (25 tries, 34 conversions)
#31 Jayden Nell – 1 tournament, 0 points