The Kiwis fijians and samoans can only gaze in awe at the Blitzbokke! Hahahahahahaha
Ex Superpsort
The Springbok Sevens team returns to South Africa from Dubai later on Monday as overwhelming favourites to back up their triumph in the second HSBC World Sevens Series event of the season with victory in their home leg in Port Elizabeth at the weekend.
Normally when a team wins a tournament the optimism for the following week is tempered by the knowledge that winning takes a lot out of a squad. The South Africans have returned to play their home tournament in George or Port Elizabeth in the past as Dubai champs and come short.
However, the Blitzbokke were so dominant, and their victories so emphatic, once they had gathered momentum after an iffish open day and started to hit their straps on the second, that it is hard to see them challenged. In the knock-out phase they scored 91 points against just seven, and it was a lopsided synopsis that by no means flattered squad captain Kyle Brown’s men.
Of course Brown is coming back from injury, and Frankie Horne started as the team leader in all of the games at the Dubai Sevens, but Brown did get game time as a replacement in most, and will be looking to add to his onfield effort this week. And that is one point about the Blitzbokke and one of their secrets to success – they have incredible depth, and it was summed up by one of the Australian commentators at the weekend who suggested that when the South Africans play, it is 10 against seven, such is the quality they have on the replacements bench.
Brown, Cheslin Kolbe and newcomer Warrick Gelant all made impacts when they came on during the tournament, particularly on the deciding day, when the South Africans won 40-0 against Argentina in the quarterfinal, 28-0 against the All Blacks (WHAT HAPPENED KKBS????) in the semifinal, and 33-7 in a final against the Wallabies that was initially tight but where the pressure applied was always going to tell.
Pressure is one word that can sum up the Blitzbokke. They apply it unrelentingly. They were brilliant on the deciding day in cutting down space on their opponents, making first time hits – and doing it with a physicality that stunned the other teams at the contact points and led to frequent turn-overs.
Kick attack is also a big part of the SA arsenal, and Branco du Preez and Cecil Afrika set up numerous tries and attacking opportunities with well targeted chips and cross kicks, these days often referred to as kick passes.
When you have speedsters such as Seabelo Senatla and Cheslin Kolbe out wide you are always going to give yourself a chance with those tactics, and some of the teams battled to adjust to the tactic, with the positioning of the sweeper proving problematic for them.
In this format of the game, the kick-off or restart is even more important than it is in the conventional, 15-man code, and here Afrika was spot on with the hanging kicks that frequently ensured that the fact the Blitzbokke had just scored did not mean that there was a let-up in pressure.
There is a great blend of power, skill and pace in the current Blitzbok team, with Frankie Horne, Werner Kok and Kwagga Smith providing the former, plus plenty of creativity, all of the players possess the middle ingredient, with Afrika simply outstanding, and of course the Welkom reared Western Province flyer Senatla headlines the last mentioned, racking up another hatful of tries to stretch his seasonal tally to 14.
After the Dubai tournament Afrika is breathing down the neck of Fabian Juries in his quest to claim the record for highest number of tries for the Springbok Sevens team, and he could come close to doing it in Port Elizabeth, where victory will also push the Blitzbokke into the lead in the Series race. They start the weekend on 37 points, just two adrift of log leaders Fiji, who ensured they stayed top when they beat the All Blacks in the third/fourth play-off game.
Although well beaten in the semifinal and also a poor second to Fiji in the play-off fixture, the All Blacks could well be the biggest obstacle to the Boks following up with another win. Before the semi, the Kiwis had conceded just one try in the tournament, and if they can find a way to deal with the Blitzbokke physicality, they could be dangerous. (LOOKED TO BE BIGGER GUYS THAN THE BLITZEBOKKE BUT AS USUAL TOO PAP!! BWAHAHA HAHAHAHA)
However, the South Africans got better as the Dubai tournament progressed, and they were already leaps and bounds ahead of where they were at the Gold Coast, so don’t bet against a further improvement that could lead to them wrapping up the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium tournament as emphatically as they did Dubai.
Yep I have to agree I cant see hapless Nz oaks beating these guys. I didnt see Samoa and Fiji play so dont know how theyare doing. However I suspect there is too much pace in this Bok squad for them to handle.
Kolbe at scrumhalf, Senatla and Kwagga look to be players who could crack it in the 15 man code and possibly for the Boks. Kwagga must move to center so we can see what he can do. He is only 88 kg so playing him on the flank will not last long term. He is a rugged type so may be able to overcome being a bit small for center.
