The Blitzboks are fired up to finish their disappointing season on a high as the curtain comes down on the 2022-23 World Sevens Series at Twickenham this weekend.
The South Africans, who face Great Britain, the US and New Zealand in Pool A in London on Saturday for the final stop of the 11-leg circuit, will be keen to show what they can do as they still hope to gain automatic qualification for next year’s Olympics.
Sandile Ngcobo’s charges blew hot and cold last weekend in Toulouse, but their big wins over Fiji and the Americans have given the men in green and gold some confidence in the English capital.
“There were a lot of positives from Toulouse, especially our performances against Fiji and USA,” said forward Impi Visser.
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“We showed what we can do in difficult conditions against Fiji – the way in which we took risks and expressed ourselves – which was a true reflection of our talent. We need to take the momentum from those games into this weekend.
“One area we need to improve, is our restart receipts. We were not good last weekend and that is probably why we lost to Australia and Argentina. We could not get the ball when those opponents kicked on us and we need to sharpen up on that, so that we can run onto defences and play the way we know this team can.”
The Blitzboks showed promise with a tournament win in Dubai, before an agonising semi-final defeat in Cape Town and a runners-up spot in Sydney in the first half of the season.
“We want to finish strong after we’ve struggled in the last four or five tournaments,” said Visser. “I also think it will be good for our confidence going into next season if we can go all the way and win this tournament, and hopefully qualify for the Olympic Games as well.
“It’s a big ask, but we are capable of doing it, so we’re looking forward to finishing the season on a strong note.”
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