Springbok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman has heaped praise on his squad after they won the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles by beating Spain 19-5 to lift the World Championship trophy for the first time.
The coach also heaped praise at the team’s dominance at the championship held at the Dignity Health Sports Park which saw them outplay arch-rivals France, Great Britain, Argentina in the pool stages, and continue with New Zealand and Spain.
Blitzboks Captain Selvyn Davids, Mfundo Ndhlovu, Ricardo Duarttee scored the team’s tries and were converted by Ronald Brown and Tristan Leyds.
“This team delivered an amazing performance over the weekend. The players deserve so much credit for the way they played here in Los Angeles. We had some good parts and some bad parts to our season, but this weekend we got it all together and that is a very satisfying feeling.
“Any coach will tell you that your plan can only be as good as the buy-in from the players and then their execution thereof. This weekend it all came together,” said Snyman. He complimented the team for sticking with their plan, adding that they performed exceptionally well, and all must be given all the credit. Snyman is confident that the team is back where it should be.
“This performance was proof of the potential of this squad.
“The players executed their roles so well, there was a common belief in what is possible and how to achieve that and the result is there for them to enjoy now.
“This performance finally 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,” explained the coach.
Davids, who was named Player of the Final, echoed Snyman’s comments, adding that the team learned a lot from this season.
“The guys left everything out there on the field, we gave it our all. That is just an amazing feeling. We fought for each other, and we fought for the badge, and knowing that we achieved that was already a win for me. 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,” remarked Davids.
The squad will arrive back in South Africa on Tuesday.
