They did it the hard way, but the Springbok Sevens finally booked their ticket to the Paris Olympics Games for a third consecutive time since Rugby Sevens was introduced in 2016, when they defeated Great Britain in the final of the World Rugby Sevens Repechage event in Monaco on Sunday evening.
It was a great reward for the Springbok Sevens system, that they will once more go the Olympic Games, but the real relief was that the Blitzboks’ swagger and belief is back.
In fact, according to 2016 bronze medalist and interim Springbok Sevens coach, Philip Snyman, the succesfull entry to the Paris Olympics, gained by winning the World Rugby Sevens Repechage in Monaco on Sunday evening, has installed a belief that they have turned a miserable season around.
“We had some bad months, yes, but the comeback is now complete,” Snyman explains.
“We got ourselves into the mess of having to qualifty via repechage, but credit to the way the players responded. We came here knowing that defence will be the key to success and only conceded three tries in six matches. The guys deserve a lot of credit for that,” Snyman said.
The coach praised all involved with the lead-up to the event and said the players deserve the applause.
“We were down and out, but credit to the guys. They really deserve this and I am very pleased that we will be going to Paris.”
On Sunday (https://apo-opa.co/4exTrPJ), the Blitzboks outplayed Uganda, Canada and Great Britain to claim the final ticket to the Rugby Sevens at the Paris Olympics.
Afterwards team captain, Selvyn Davids, praised his troops and the management for a job well done.
“The guys really wanted this. We came here well prepared, with good confidence and a solid game plan. Credit to all our opponents, especially Great Britain, who really gave us a hard time in that final,” Davids said.
“We knew it would be a tough weekend, but the way we responded to everything our opponents threw at us makes me a very proud Blitzboks captain,” beamed Davids.
Meanwhile, World Rugby also announced the pools for the Rugby Sevens event in Paris.
South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and Japan will contest Pool A, while Argentina, Australia, Samoa and Kenya are in Pool B. Hosts France will face defending champions Fiji, USA and Uruguay in Pool C.
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Rugby.
Note to editors: Audio notes of Philip Snyman and Selvyn Davids can be downloaded here (https://apo-opa.co/45F87Z7).
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