The splendour of Singapore means it is considered a popular shopping destination, but Springbok Sevens co-captain Impi Visser insists that is the very last thing on their minds this week.
Instead, the hard tackling forward said the Blitzboks want to redeem themselves by winning the HSBC SVNS Singapore and in doing so, put their season back on track, adding that last weekend’s performance in Hong Kong was very unfortunate and one they will not forget.
“We really stuffed up our season,” said Visser.
“Before Hong Kong we were still in the hunt for the overall title, but that has slipped through the net now and that is frustrating, as we have been doing well in recent tournaments.
“We have another go at the Grand Finale in Los Angeles later, but we had our eyes on the series as well, so it was a huge disappointment.”
Visser said it is clear why they were unsuccessful in Hong Kong: “We hardly had the ball – the stats show how little possession we had and for a team with so many great attacking threaths, that is just not going to work, as sevens rugby is all about possession.
“We did not look after the ball when we had it, and we could not get the ball away from the opponents. Those are the work-ons this week.”
Visser is adamant that those issues can be solved by the weekend.
“It is in our control for sure and if we implement what is expected, we will be successful; we have seen that in the past,” he said.
“Look, it is tight on the circuit and anyone can beat anyone on the day, but we know we can be a tough opponent if we do things well. And that is exactly what our focus will be this weekend.”
Visser is expecting the South Africans to be around at the business end of the tournament in the National Stadium: “This is the last tournament of the series and we are determined to go out with a bang. Don’t count us out.”