The noise generated by the HSBC SVNS Cape Town crowd last year, where the Springbok Sevens secured a first home tournament victory since 2015, was the loudest Donavan Don has ever encountered, and the Blitzbok speedster said on Wednesday he cannot wait for an opportunity to experience that again.
Don and his teammates are hard at work with only a couple of weeks remaining before the new HSBC SVNS kicks off, with the DHL Stadium showpiece on 6 and 7 December, the second tournament of the new season.
Tickets for the tournament, starting at R250, can be purchased from Ticketmaster.
A huge chunk of noise generated on the second day was thanks to a moment of brilliance from Don in the 2024 final, with the SA playmaker slicing through the French defence to score the first of four tries as the Blitzboks romped away to a 26-12 win.
“That was an amazing feeling, as it was the first time I played in Cape Town, and to be honest, the crowd was just something else” he said at the Varsity College campus in Newlands, where the Blitzboks attended a HSBC SVNS Cape Town ticket drive.
“We battled to hear our own teammates, such was the noise and encouragement from the crowd.”
Don was still a rookie a year ago, only playing in his fifth tournament in three seasons, but he has now kicked on into regular starter status, something the 23-year-old from Velddrif says is “a huge responsibility”.
“To represent your country is massive and to play well for your supporters, especially such passionate ones as in Cape Town, is a huge responsibility, as you cannot disappoint them,” he said.
For the eager Don, the new season holds much excitement, following a very productive season for the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers, where he finished the top try scorer in the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division, with nine tries in six matches.
“That turned out to be a great opportunity for me to go and play a bit of fifteens again,” said Don, who played for the NovaVit Griffons and the Junior Springboks in his earlier fifteens career.
“Things went really well for us at Boland, and that experience made me realise again how lucky and privileged I am to be in a national set-up. Some of those Boland guys have day jobs and had to finish work first and then come and train.
“I was humbled by seeing such sacrifice and already relayed that to our squad in Stellenbosch. We simply cannot take anything for granted, as the Springbok Sevens. Especially as we are the World Champions and will have a target on our backs.”
The Blitzboks are already well into their preseason set-up and Don is soaking it all in: “We will need to be at our best every tournament, but the guys realise that. And for those who will be lucky enough to be selected for the Cape Town tournament, the pressure and expectations will be real, but we would not want it anyway else.”