They had the absolute high of winning their home tournament in Cape Town last month, but that ship has sailed, and for the Springbok Sevens team, this weekend’s HSBC SVNS Singapore will represent a fresh challenge. And they will be ready for it.
That was the view of Blitzbok forward Zander Reynders, who departed with the rest of the squad from Cape Town earlier on Monday for the long haul to Asia.
The Blitzboks will face Great Britain, Spain and Fiji in pool play in the National Stadium in Singapore on Saturday, and according to Reynders, who has three tournament victories in the green and gold already, they will be well prepared for their opponents.
“With only eight teams playing over six tournaments, you are going to play each team a couple of times, so one knows what to expect a bit more,” said Reynders.
“The margins are going to be small, and even our opening game could be seen as a quarter-final, such is the competitiveness of the series. What we do know is that Cape Town’s performances will not help us in Singapore; we need to go out again and do it from scratch.”
South Africa has enjoyed limited success in Singapore, having won the tournament in 2004 and 2019, but for Reynders, the scoring of his first Blitzbok try at the same venue last year was something he will not easily forget.
“It was not the best of trips – it was on the back of a disappointing weekend in Hong Kong where we did not perform as expected,” he said.
“It did not go well in Singapore either, so I am hoping for an improvement on those emotions and results.”
The travelling squad include two newcomers in Renaldo Young and Luan Giliomee, but they don’t need to fear the unknown as Reynders, like the rest of the squad, will try to make their trip a memorable one.
That started at departure already, where Reynders took them ‘under his wing’: “I was a rookie in the side last year, so I know what the things are that could affect a new player when on tour the first time, like where to sit at meals.
“I will try to make it a bit easier by sticking around them. I sat with them during our meal at the Spur and will show them around once we get to the airport on that side, just to make sure they are at ease.”
With the team arriving on Tuesday only and already playing on Saturday, there will not be much else to do or see but training and watching clips of opponents, but apart from an elusive trophy, Reynders has another mission: to find a particular tea shop on the island and do some shopping.
“Yes, I promised my in-laws, who are avid tea drinkers, that I will bring back some tea from one of the renowned tea shops in Singapore,” he said with a big smile. “There is this one shop that stocks teas from all over the world, so that is where you will find me on our day off.”