The Springbok Sevens team said it is ready to bring the glory days back again when they kick-off HSBC SVNS Perth at HBF Park in Australia from 24-26 January.
The team is set to be in a positive mindset and determined to raise the bar they set in South Africa last month, when they won the HSBC SVNS Cape Town.
One of those eager to make his mark, is the former SA Schools and Junior Springbok representative, David Brits.
The 27-year-old is part of the team that participated at last year’s tournament and returns to Perth with the aim for glory and to improve on the team’s fifth-place finish.
“It’s exciting indeed, we had a good performance in our last tournament by winning in Cape Town and although we put that behind us, we now know what can be done if we apply ourselves properly.
Perth is a great venue, it is a fast and hard field, it is quite hot out here and the support for us is good.
We are used to training in the heat back home, so that is no problem, while we prefer a fast game as well, so it all adds up for us,” said Brits.
The team also features experienced players like Ryan Oosthuizen, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Zain Davids, while Impi Visser and Selvyn Davids.
Meanwhile, coach Philip Snyman, said the team is a blend of experienced and new players.
“I have stated at the start of the season that I am hoping to widen the player base and add experience to the group.
So, changes were always part of the plan, despite the great showing in Cape Town.
Some guys would have missed out anyway because of injuries, but we still have the starting team from Cape Town and that core should provide some momentum,” explained Snyman.
The Blitzboks will start their campaign on Friday morning against the USA at 08h23 (SA time), and their second Pool A match, against Australia, at 13h52 (SA time), will conclude the first day’s play at HBF Park.
They play Argentina at 07h50 (SA time) on Saturday, with the knock-out rounds starting in the afternoon.
The Blitzboks are currently fourth on the world series log after the opening two tournaments in Dubai and Cape Town.
