Blitzboks won’t stop chasing that extra one percent – Dry
BLITZBOKS veteran Chris Dry is adamant that this week’s training sessions need to be as sharp as they had been in Los Angeles last week before the South Africans take on Japan, Argentina and England at in the Vancouver leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series on Saturday.
“There were certain elements in our game that we need to work on this week – we are always striving for the one percent improvements, and we were far from perfect in Los Angeles, despite the great result in the end,” Dry insisted.
The most capped forward in Blitzboks history will play in his 74th tournament this weekend and says that every opportunity to play is savoured and enjoyed.
“It is such a great honour to play with these guys and it is never nice to be ‘rested’ like I was originally, as you want to be out there with the guys,” said Dry, who flew over to LA as a late injury replacement.
“We were working pretty hard back in Stellenbosch with the SA Rugby Sevens Academy guys, so when the call came I was ready and eager to go – as I will be this weekend.”
On the other side of the experience scale is Angelo Davids, who scored a firsthalf brace of tries in the semi-final against New Zealand in Los Angeles last weekend, paving the way for a 17-0 victory over the World Series log leaders.
The South Africans then went on to defeat Fiji in the final.
Davids is playing in only his fifth tournament and tops Dry when it comes to excitement levels.
“It is just such a goose bump feeling to play for this team and jersey,” smiled Davids, who has now scored 16 tries in 26 matches for the Blitzboks and has claimed World Series titles in Singapore and Los Angeles.
“It was a dream of mine to play for the team and now I’m living that.
“I always wanted to visit the USA as well and I left with great memories.
“I am also pretty excited to be in Vancouver as a lot of the guys indicated it to be a great stop on tour.”
Davids is still of the shy kind, but with 14 tries in 15 matches this season, his actions are speaking far louder than words.
“The guys on the inside are making it easy for me,” said the 20-year-old speedster.
“We have great systems in place and that allows me to score a lot of tries.
“I am just at the end of it; a lot of the work is done by the guys on the inside. It is great to know they have my back.”