Springbok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman heaped praise on his squad after a commanding weekend of sevens rugby was displayed at the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles, with the Blitzboks finishing as the only undefeated side and crowned winners on Sunday.
Strong performances on day one at Dignity Health Sports Park saw pool victories over France, Great Britain and Argentina, and the Blitzboks outplayed New Zealand and Spain on the second day to lift the World Championship trophy for the first time.
“This team delivered an amazing performance over the weekend,” said Snyman.
“The players deserve so much credit for the way they played here in Los Angeles. We had some good parts and some bad parts to our season, but this weekend we got it all together, and that is a very satisfying feeling.
“Any coach will tell you that your plan can only be as good as the buy-in from the players and then their execution thereof. This weekend, it all came together.
“They really stuck to our plan, but also importantly, played the moments when it was there to exploit. They did some exceptional things on the field during this tournament, and all the credit must go to them.
“Some of those moments of brilliance by the players in the final made this a special win.”
Snyman said the weekend proved that the Blitzboks are back to where they should be: “This performance was proof of the potential of this squad. The players executed their roles so well, there was a common belief in what is possible and how to achieve that and the result is there for them to enjoy now.
“This performance finally completes the puzzle for us, and what a beautiful picture we got. This was the true colour of Springbok Sevens, and I cannot be prouder of what it represented and displayed this weekend.”
The Blitzbok coach also reflected on the big moments of the weekend and said they “were up for it”.
“Our defence was great, the attack worked so well, while there was this hunger in each player to use this tournament to make up for the disappointing ones we had along the way,” he said.
Blitzbok captain Selvyn Davids said the effort during the weekend made him very proud.
“The guys left everything out there on the field, we gave it our all,” he said. “That is just an amazing feeling. We fought for each other, and we fought for the badge and knowing that we achieved that was already a win for me.”
The one lesson learned from this season is that consistency is key to everything, according to Davids: “The consistency we lacked during the year prevented us from reaching our full potential as a team. This tournament, we managed to maintain the same level of excellence, and that proved gold for us.”
David, who was named Player of the Final, insisted that the performance over the weekend was a complete team effort.
“The format of only eight teams was always going to be demanding, but we managed to stay in the moment in each game,” said Davids. “We had some dark spots during matches, but every time someone did something special, to make that disappear. Everyone just focused on the next job and got it done. I am so proud of this.”
The squad will arrive back in South Africa on Tuesday.