The Springbok Sevens have always enjoyed success in Vancouver, winning three titles, one during the Commonwealth Games, in the Canadian city and making the final of the SVNS showpiece twice.
But, after a lacklustre ninth-place finish in 2024 and some ordinary performances in 2023 and 2022, a period marred with inconsistency, the Blitzboks gear up for their opening match against New Zealand with hopes of turning their recent fortunes around.
Co-captain Impi Visser said they will look to fix their errors of the last couple of seasons, especially after last year.
“Last time around, we were a bit disjointed, and it showed in our play.”
“Last time around, we were a bit disjointed, and it showed in our play,” he said
“Credit to the management who sorted all the little niggles out, as we arrived here a happy and determined squad, cold as it may be in Vancouver. The environment they created allows the relationship amongst the players to be as healthy as they can be, and we all flourish as a group because of that.”
A reminder of how things stand heading into Vancouver 📊
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) February 18, 2025
Who is going to make the biggest moves after this weekend? 👀#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSVAN pic.twitter.com/uGP0hawpOM
After winning the Cape Town tournament, and finishing in fourth in Perth recently, the Blitzboks are eager to stand on the podium again. They are within reaching distance of the top-three sides on the official SVNS Series log.
They start their campaign against the All Blacks Sevens tomorrow (10pm kick-off), before taking on Ireland (Saturday, 03.24 am) and Australia (9.36 pm) in the ‘Pool of Death’.
“A good result here will help a lot towards our build-up for the Grand Finale in a couple of months.”
“A good result here will help a lot towards our build-up for the Grand Finale in a couple of months. We are not results driven per se, and rather focussed on the execution and effort of our game plan, but a good result will be of great value to us.
“We did very good work in the pre-season, so that foundation was laid, and our success or not in tournaments will boil down to our execution on the day,” Visser added.
Early #HSBCSVNSVAN warm-ups points to a kicking game at @bcplace
— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) February 18, 2025
Or does it? #PoweredByUnity pic.twitter.com/dytsMfjiKz
In this pivotal tournament, the captaincy will be shared between Visser and Selvyn Davids, following the injury to Zain Davids. The return of playmaker Tristan Leyds and speedster Sebastian Jobb should also add an extra dimension to their attack.
“We have some brilliant individual players who really bring something to the party, so the key for us is to combine as a team in order to benefit from those skilled players.”