Philip Snyman accepts all the blame for a weekend of few highlights for the Blitzboks at the Hong Kong Sevens, but rather many disappointing moments.
The head coach still believes his squad can beat any other team on the circuit, so South Africa’s ninth-place finish at the fifth leg of the 204-25 World Rugby SVNS Series was a bitter pill to swallow.
“I have to take this one on the chin, as that was not our standard and ultimately, it is my job to make sure the guys are up for it and that consistency becomes a norm for the team,” Snyman said after the Blitzboks’ 19-17 win over Kenya in their final game on Sunday.
“That consistency should be for every game and every tournament and not a select few as it happened here. The fact that it did not happen must be laid on my doorstep.”
The Blitzboks started well in their pool opener against Uruguay on Friday, but defeats to Australia and New Zealand meant they had to contest the minor placings for the first time in the season.
“We have to be more consistent than this,” said Snyman. “Against Australia, we had the benefit of a yellow card in the opening minute but did not use it, while against New Zealand, we were in their red zone early only to give away possession.
RECAP: Blitzboks claim consolation wins in Hong Kong
“Against New Zealand, we lost possession eight times and conceded six penalties, and you just cannot play rugby like that. We were poor at the breakdown and need to fix that with Singapore looming.”
Sunday’s victory over Kenya was a carbon copy of what happened earlier in pool play, according to Snyman: “We started so well and did everything we wanted, executed well and had a deserved lead. Then we lost concentration, made some errors and allowed them back into the game and in the end, we had to regroup in order to win the match.”
The Blitzboks are now gearing up for next weekend’s tournament in Singapore, and Snyman said they are hurting.
“We want to put the memory of this tournament behind us, but it will not just be swept under the carpet,” he said. “We will do serious reflection, and I will spend enough time to go through everything with the players and where we fell short as a squad.”
Snyman said there were few positives, including the impressive debut by Gino Cupido, who scored four tries in his first tournament for the Blitzboks.
“We have a long-term objective of blooding new players and widening our pool of players, and that at least was a plus for us,” he said. “Gino showed that he will be part of the future of Springbok Sevens, while Zander Reynders also started matches for the first time and did well. Those are silver linings for sure.”
Despite their ninth place, the Blitzboks are still fourth on the overall series standings, but they have lost ground to leaders Argentina, who won in Hong Kong, while the teams behind South Africa closed the gap.
Most points for South Africa:
21 – Ricardo Duarttee (one try, eight conversions)
20 – Gino Cupido (four tries)
15 – Shilton van Wyk (three tries)
SVNS standings:
1 Argentina – 88 points
2 Fiji – 76
3 Spain – 74
4 South Africa – 66
5 France – 64
6 Australia – 54
7 New Zealand – 50
8 Great Britain – 38
Photo: David Van Der Sandt/Gallo Images
