The Springbok Sevens team arrived in Perth on Sunday determined to build on their victory in the HSBC SVNS Cape Town last month which was their first home win since 2015.
Co-captain Impi Visser described the triumph as a reward for hard work but emphasized the need to reset ahead of this weekend’s tournament.
Visser said the pressure to perform as Blitzboks players is always present with expectations high from supporters and the squad.
“The pressures to perform when you play for the Blitzboks are always there, and the expectation that you will do well by all involved is a given, be it a supporter or a player,” said Visser. “The win in Cape Town just confirmed that our hard work paid off, that we have set a standard for ourselves to maintain now. We arrive here in Perth with exactly that in mind. To be at our best as that will bring results.”
Visser who debuted in 2019 and has played in 41 world series tournaments highlighted the experienced squad with only Zander Reynders in his first season.
The Blitzboks face the USA Australia and Argentina in Pool A and anticipate tough opposition.
“We have some very experienced players on tour, with only Zander (Reynders) in his first season, so there is good synergy in the group, as well as cohesion ahead of that will be another very competitive weekend for us,” he said.
The Blitzboks will face the USA Australia and Argentina in Perth with all expected to provide tough challenges.
“All our opponents have their strengths and weaknesses, but we have seen that we do best when we just keep the focus on ourselves,” said Visser.
“We have very good potential and if you add the experience that Ryan (Oosthuizen), Ronald (Brown) and Selvyn (Davids) will bring, we will be competitive, that is for sure. We know what we can do, now the challenge will be to not only stick to those standards but raise the bar even higher.
“We have seen that wherever we play during the series, the South Africans abroad come out in good numbers to support us. That is a nice bonus for us, as well as a source of inspiration.”
The Blitzboks will begin their campaign on Friday morning against the USA at 8.23am South African time and will play their second Pool A match against Australia at 1.52pm. They face Argentina on Saturday morning at 7.50am with the knock-out rounds scheduled to start later in the afternoon.
