Assistant coach Philip Snyman says the unbeaten Blitzboks still have improvements to make if they want to be successful in the New Zealand Sevens playoffs.
South Africa finished first in Pool D on day one of the tournament in Hamilton to set up a clash against France in the quarter-finals at 11.58pm (SA time) on Saturday night.
The Blitzboks progressed to the knockout stages after victories against Canada (34-5), Spain (19-12) and Argentina (17-7), but Snyman has warned the South Africans to expect a stiff challenge from the French: “The opposition will be even stronger and the opportunities much less, so we would need to keep ball in hand, muscle up and grab our attacking opportunities.”
ICYMI – Unbeaten Blitzboks through to Hamilton quarters
“We are pleased with the three wins, but we left a few opportunities out there on the pitch,” he added. “We will review the performances and pinpoint where we have to improve and hopefully we can do even better on the second day.”
Snyman commended Spain for their fighting performance in the second encounter: “They counter-rucked us and we were not happy with our physicality. Our defence must also improve as we need to put shoulders on bodies and get the attackers onto the ground.”
Up. And. ???????. ?
Shilton van Wyk heads down the right and we’ve got our first score of #NZ7s #HSBC7s | @Blitzboks pic.twitter.com/bdTo7bvmd2
— World Rugby 7s (@WorldRugby7s) January 20, 2023
The South Africans also had to dig deep to outplay Argentina in their final match of the day. The South Americans took the early lead with a try in the second minute, but tries from Dalvon Blood and Christie Grobbelaar edged the Blitzboks ahead at the break by 12-7.
Luciano Gonzalez’s try shortly after half time saw Argentina regain the lead and the South Americans fought hard until Zain Davids went over for the late winner to snatch a dramatic victory.
“They are a quality side and I think we were lucky to win,” said Snyman.
“Our tactic was to starve them of possession, but that didn’t go according to plan because we gave away too much possession, we had a number of loose passes and some missed tackles.
“But to put Argentina away despite so many errors showed the character of the players, and in the end we were pleased with the win.”
Unbeaten in the pool, but #Blitzboks see room for improvement in Hamilton – more here: https://t.co/7SagAZAvM5 ??#BlitzIgnite #HSBCNZ7s @WorldRugby7s pic.twitter.com/JjkkQ7Zqr3
— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) January 21, 2023
Photo: @Blitzboks/Twitter