Sevens set to steal show
IT’S ALL systems go for the much anticipated second leg of the 2018/19 World Sevens Series, which kicks off at Cape Town Stadium tomorrow.
It’s officially that time of the year again when everything else takes a back seat while the Cape Town Sevens steals the show.
Rugby’s biggest party has produced some of the most exciting moments in sport over the past few years. From scintillating tries on the pitch to top live entertainment and an epic mannequin challenge that saw 55 000 fans make the Cup final of the Cape Town event a brilliant experience, there’s just too much to miss. And there’s no doubt that a pumping crowd can add something better to that list.
Earlier this week, New Zealand skipper Andrew Knewstubb said the support they received in Cape Town was “amazing”, and that he hoped the crowd would get behind them this weekend.
The home team hope to use the crowd to get back to their winning ways. South Africa captain Philip Snyman said the crowd would boost their energy levels. “We will be playing in front of 50-odd thousand people each day in the only weekend we get to play in our own country. That is massive for us,” he said.
“More importantly, though, is that we will also be playing with the support of 50 million people, and we are hoping to make all of them proud.”
THINGS didn’t go well for the Blitzboks in Dubai, that we all know. But with the opening leg of the 2018-19 World Sevens Series a thing of the past, the defending series champions will look to put their sixth-place finish behind them and get off to a good start in Cape Town this weekend. Here are three ways they can do just that in front of the Cape Town Stadium crowd.
Make those tackles
The Springboks Sevens team pride themselves on their defence, but at certain stages in the desert – especially against England in the quarter-final – they produced a performance that couldn’t be further from their usually exemplary defence. They slipped off tackles, went in high a couple of times and opted for double hits when it sometimes maybe wasn’t the best choice. During the week, coach Neil Powell and a number of Blitzbok players touched on the importance of getting their defence right tomorrow and Sunday. And while few struggles can be expected given the make-up of the team (a number of new guys have come in, while a large number of experienced players have crossed over to Fifteens), the sooner they get it right, the better.
Try, but not so hard
On day one in particular in Dubai, a number of mistakes courtesy of an individualistic approach crept in. Their decision-making wasn’t always 100% – whether it was a forced pass or holding onto the ball and going alone – although it got better as the weekend progressed. Also, discipline. It was a bit of an issue in Dubai and those yellow cards against Argentina in their last Pool game last weekend hurt them. So as desperate as they might be to right the wrongs of Dubai, they can’t afford to let that desperation spill into errors.
Let the attack flow
Earlier this week, Powell said another work-on is fluidity on attack. The fact that they sometimes struggled to string phases together is one thing the Blitzbok chief wants to see improvement in come tomorrow. They appeared halted with ball in hand last weekend. Just like with their defence, things will get better with time. But execution can only aid their progress in the second leg of the series.