A fourth consecutive appearance at the Rugby World Cup Sevens – this time at home in Cape Town in September – is very much on the radar of the Springbok Women's Sevens team in 2022, but for now, Paul Delport and his team are focused on the Africa Sevens Cup, to be played in Tunisia at the end of April.
The squad assembled in Stellenbosch on Monday for a weeklong camp and Delport said they have a number of objectives, with the Tunisia trip looming large.
“The African Sevens tournament will be very important for us as the winner will enter the Commonwealth Games, to be played in England in July,” said Delport.
“That tournament will certainly set us up nicely for the World Cup in September.”
Delport, who guided South Africa to the 2018 RWC Sevens tournament in the USA, is taking nothing for granted in the first monthly camp leading up to the African affair.
“Our last competitive tournament was in December 2019 at the HSBC Cape Town Sevens, so we have a lot of catching up to, having missed out on preparation and tournaments for 22 months,” he said.
“That's why it is so great to see the group, this time with a couple of new faces as well, getting together here at our Stellenbosch base.
“I really want to commend our High-Performance Manager, Lynne Cantwell, for the work she has put in to have us running around again, playing the game we love so much. You can also see from the players' attitudes that they are excited for the year ahead.”
Delport said this camp will be used to access players’ strength and fitness levels, conduct medical screening and give the players an introduction to the team’s defensive principles. He wants to get the players to get a feel of sevens rugby again as well.
“A number of players are involved in the Springbok Women's preparations for the season as well, which is a boost for us,” said Delport.
“They had a productive year in 2021 and we can certainly feed off that. Coach Stanley Raubenheimer has been fantastic in his support and that will continue as we near our first matches. Hard work awaits, but it is clear that the squad wants to be part of this journey and that is great to know.”