The lifting of the Emirates Trophy on Saturday evening in Dubai was one thing, the knowledge that so many people worked so hard towards that moment was another.
According to Siviwe Soyizwapi, the Blitzboks’ captain, the team desperately needed the win in Dubai.
"We dug ourselves into a bit of a hole over the last couple of months, so this comes at a very appropriate time for us,” said the Blitzboks’ skipper.
“We worked hard back home and challenged each other and what the system demands of everyone. I would say this win came from hard work from within our group.”
Soyizwapi explained that the team culture and team identity carried them through the tournament.
"That is our default move, we know who we are as a team and what makes us perform. We just reminded everyone again that the system will look after you if you do your part. This is such a wonderful feeling, we needed the result to justify the effort and it did. You have to play 100% at 100% of the time,” said Soyizwapi
The South Africans return to Cape Town on Sunday and with their home tournament, the HSBC Cape Town Sevens just a week away, the SA Sevens captain made a passionate plea to local supporters to rally and come out and support the team.
“This is our tournament and we want to repeat this (winning achievement) in front of a packed stadium. We only get that one chance a year to play in front of our family, friends and supporters, so we want to make it special. We will enjoy tonight, but tomorrow the focus will shift to Cape Town and the prospect of playing in a stadium full of passionate South Africans.”
