The Blitzboks are fully aware that teams are looking to unseat them from the top of the sevens totem pole.
The regular-season SVNS winners are preparing for the opening leg of the SVNS World Championship in Hong Kong from 17-19 April, which will be followed by tournaments in Valladolid and Bordeaux.
South Africa face Uruguay, Spain and Argentina in Pool A.
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Despite entering the tournament as defending world champions, Tristan Leyds insists the squad remains grounded.
“We still have a target on our backs with being last year’s world champions, so I think if we can just get back to zero, stay humble and keep our feet on the ground, focus on what’s coming then hopefully we can go back-to-back with the world champs,” Leyds told SA Rugby magazine.
Coach Philip Snyman says the Blitzboks head into the World Championship with confidence after finishing top of the league standings.
“Because we finished No 1 in the league, we’re the first ones to automatically qualify for next season [SVNS series]. We don’t need to qualify and we’ll be seeded No 1 for all three tournaments, so now we can actually go and play with total freedom.
“But the work’s not done yet. It was a great achievement winning the league, but we’ll put everything into making sure that we’re successful in the next three.”
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Hong Kong remains a particularly strong motivation for the Blitzboks.
“We achieved a few things this season, but the one tournament we’ve never won is Hong Kong,” said Snyman. “So you can imagine where all our focus and energy have gone into.”
Hong Kong pools
A: South Africa, Argentina, Spain, Uruguay
B: Fiji, France, Great Britain, Germany
C: New Zealand, Australia, Kenya, USA
Blitzboks fixtures
Friday, 17 April
5:16am: Uruguay
8:49am: Spain
Saturday, 18 April
6:13am: Argentina
Photo: @Blitzboks/X
The post Leyds: Blitzboks have target on their backs appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
