The back story of their first victory in Hong Kong was written daily at the Springbok Sevens team’s training base in Stellenbosch, the place they will return to as they start their next mission, the HSBC SVNS World Championship Valladolid in Spain next month.
According to Blitzbok sweeper Ronald Brown, once they have had a rest from their trip to the Far East, they will get back for the next chapter of their season.
Speaking after their 35-7 final win over Argentina in Hong Kong, Brown insisted that the victory — SA’s first at the “home of sevens” since they first made the trip for the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 1997, when they were beaten in the final by Fiji — will not create a false sense of security but will rather inspire them to work even harder.
“The win that eluded so many Blitzbok sides was massive, and we are all so relieved that the bogey is no more,” Brown said.
“More importantly from that win, though, was the way we achieved that. We again realised that if we play the way our coaches have prepared us, we are a hard team to beat. And if we execute, we will have success.
“It was also a mental win for us; we started poorly on day one, but once we applied our minds, success followed, so that was another reminder that we need to be ready, not only physically but mentally as well.”
The Blitzboks will return to the training field next week to start preparing for the Spain leg, to be played from May 29 to 31, where they will face Australia, Kenya and Great Britain in Pool A.
Argentina, New Zealand, Uruguay, and Germany will play in Pool B, while Spain, Fiji, France, and the US will play in Pool C. — SA Rugby Communications
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