Africa-Press – South-Africa. Blitzboks coach Philip Snyman heaped praise on his squad after a commanding weekend of sevens rugby displayed at the HSBC Sevens World Championship in Los Angeles, with the Blitzboks finishing as the only undefeated side and crowned winners on Sunday.
Strong performances on day one at Dignity Health Sports Park saw pool victories over France, Great Britain and Argentina, then the Blitzboks outplayed New Zealand in the semifinals and Spain in the final on day two to lift the World Championship trophy for the first time.
“This team delivered an amazing performance over the weekend,” Snyman said.
“The players deserve much credit for the way they played in Los Angeles. We had good parts and bad parts to our season, but this weekend we got it all together and that is a satisfying feeling.
“Any coach will tell you your plan can only be as good as the buy-in from the players and their execution thereof. This weekend it all came together.
“They stuck to our plan, but also played the moments when it was there to exploit. They did exceptional things on the field during this tournament and the credit must go to them.
“Some of those moments of brilliance by the players in the final made this a special win.
“This performance was proof of the potential of this squad. The players executed their roles well, there was a common belief in what is possible and how to achieve that and the result is there for them to enjoy.
“This performance completes the puzzle for us and what a beautiful picture we got. This was the true colours of Springbok Sevens and I cannot be prouder of what it represented and displayed this weekend.”
The Blitzboks coach reflected on the major moments of the weekend. “Our defence was great, the attack worked well, while there was this hunger in each player to use this tournament to make up for the disappointing ones we had along the way.”
Blitzboks captain Selvyn Davids said the effort during the weekend made him proud.
“The guys left everything out there on the field, we gave it our all,” he said. “That is an amazing feeling. We fought for each other and we fought for the badge and knowing we achieved that was already a win for me.”
Davids said the lesson learnt from this season is consistency is key to everything.
“The consistency we lacked during the year prevented us from reaching our full potential as a team. This tournament we managed to maintain the same level of excellence and that proved gold for us.”
Davids, named Player of the Final, said the weekend’s performance came via a complete team effort.
“The format of only eight teams was always going to be demanding, but we managed to stay in the moment in each game. We had dark spots during matches, but every time someone did something special to make that disappear.
“Everyone focused on the next job and got it done. I am so proud of this.”
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