They have taken the gravel road to get to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but the Blitzboks feel it could be the perfect preparation they need for what awaits in France.
It took them until the final qualifying tournament in Monaco a couple of months ago to stamp their ticket to the Games, and the hard work only continues now.
The Springbok Sevens haven’t had the best season, only managing success in the Dubai Sevens at the end of last year in the SVNS Series, but they are keen to make up for that in Paris as part of Team South Africa.
“We made life difficult for ourselves taking the gravel road to Paris,” interim head coach Philip Snyman said yesterday.
“In that Monaco tournament, though, things came together for us to qualify. Our decision was to use that tournament as preparation for the Olympic Games. The focus was not just on winning in Monaco and grabbing the final spot, but on getting that final preparation.
“We realised that when we are calm and focused on a specific thing, we perform well.”
“We head to Paris with that same approach as the one of Monaco, where we focus on one game at a time and (on) not making a big thing of it. We realised that when we are calm and focused on a specific thing, we perform well.”
Because they had an ordinary season, Snyman believes they won’t be one of the fancied sides at the tournament and that is exactly where they want to be.
South Africa will face Ireland (5.55pm) and New Zealand (9.30pm) next Wednesday (July 24), and Japan on Thursday (4pm) in the group stages, and it could be a tough pool to get out of. So there won’t be any emphasis on making the play-offs, but rather on taking things match by match and working from there.
“I feel there is less pressure and that not a lot of people will give us a chance, and that is where we want to be – not to put too much pressure on ourselves or feel that external pressure. We want to stay under the radar.
“We don’t have a reason to walk with our heads in the clouds. We must go and work hard, with not too much fuss. The big thing is we want to keep things internally.
“The focus will remain the same – (on taking it) one match at a time, one training at a time and one moment at a time. We need to stay in the moment.”
Team SA Sevens: Christie Grobbelaar, Ryan Oosthuizen, Impi Visser, Zain Davids, Quewin Nortje, Tiaan Pretorius, Shaun Williams, Selvyn Davids (captain), Tristan Leyds, Rosko Specman, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Shilton van Wyk. Travelling reserves: Ronald Brown, Katlego Letebele.