Blitzbokke must up performance – Snyman

SPRINGBOK Sevens captain Philip Snyman feels there is room for improvement and that an even better effort will be needed if they want to defend the HSBC Cape Town Sevens title from a number of strong challengers next weekend.

The HSBC Cape Town Sevens will be played in the Cape Town Stadium and after their solid performance in Dubai, where the Blitzboks won the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens title, Snyman feels they still need to improve in a number of areas.

The Springbok team was crowned the Dubai Sevens winners with an exceptional victory over Olympic and World Series champions Fiji, beating them 2614 in an epic final on Saturday.

Neil Powell’s side arrived as one of the most settled sides in the tournament, but the composure, determination and grit surprised many, including Fiji, as the Blitzboks were by far the best team of the tournament.

“We are far from the best we can be. We did well on the weekend and played a very good final against Fiji, but there are a number of areas we can improve on this week going into Cape Town,” Snyman said.

It was Snyman’s first victory as captain of the team and he felt it was an important one for the squad.

“It is always nice to have some continuity and confidence going into a tournament and we have some of that now. That is good, but we also know we can and must improve if we want some results this weekend.”

Springbok Sevens playmaker and leading points scorer with 1 144 points Cecil Afrika said the team members are keen to play in Cape Town.

“It is the one opportunity we have to play in front of our home support and we are really looking forward to that.” — SuperSport