Blitzboks Ready To Rock SVNS Cape Town

Reimagined, rebranded and stacked with a line-up like never before, this weekend’s SVNS Cape Town (previously Cape Town Sevens) at DHL Stadium promises to be the biggest and best yet, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

There’s no other rugby experience like it. In fact, the electric two-day event transcends rugby. It’s the ultimate in sports entertainment, the best of both worlds.

It’s a celebration of South African beauty and culture, a get-together that captures the imagination of fans who travel not just across the country but across the globe to experience the magic and splendour of the Mother City and the unrivalled gees of rugby’s Woodstock.  

World Rugby has revamped its sevens series with the aim to “supercharge rugby’s global reach and appeal by being more relevant and accessible to younger, leisure-hungry audiences” and “to deliver the ultimate in immersive experiences.”

To that end, the entertainment line-up is off the charts with over 40 music acts including Jack Parow, Sun El-Musician and DJ Zinhle set to rock the house against the stunning backdrop of Table Mountain.

The first-ever live Boks Office show hosted by Hanyani Shimange and Jean de Villiers will also take place and will feature a special appearance from a Bok legend, while a Food Market, Love Garden and Beach Club will add to the festivities.

Cape Town is one of eight iconic destinations that comprise the rebranded SVNS series, with each event set to showcase the 12 best men’s and women’s teams, climaxing in a Grand Final weekend held in Madrid, where the top eight teams will compete to be crowned series champions.

Meanwhile, teams ranked ninth to 12th will fight it out against the top four teams from the Challenger Series in a relegation play-off to see who secures their place in next year’s edition.

The series got off to an exciting start in Dubai last weekend, which sawthe Blitzboks run the gauntlet unbeaten to emerge as winners.

Captained by experienced playmaker Selvyn Davids, the Blitzboks have a good mix of youth and experience. Katlego Letebele and Quewin Nortje, who were part of the Junior Springbok squad who bagged bronze in this year’s World Rugby U20 Championship, made their debuts last weekend and bring fresh energy and exuberance to the table.

The legendary Rosko Specman made his return to the series sphere last weekend having last played in Cape Town in December 2020 and brings invaluable experience along with the likes of veterans Justin Geduld (55 tournaments) and Ryan Oosthuizen (43 tournaments).

Sandile Ngcobo’s squad isn’t short on leaders either, even with regular captain Siviwe Soyizwapi ruled out for most of the season due to a knee injury, with Zain Davids and Impi Visser supporting Davids, who became the 22nd man to captain South Africa on the sevens circuit in what was his 30th tournament last weekend.

Always there or thereabout in their home tournament, the Blitzboks are determined to dazzle in rugby’s biggest party of the summer. The Blitzboks have featured prominently in their home tournament, winning the inaugural Cape Town Sevens, finishing as runners-up in 2016 and 2019 and bagging bronze in 2017 and 2018.

Last year, the first edition since the pandemic, was the Blitzboks’ poorest showing. They looked good initially, marching through their pool unbeaten and beating Great Britain 21-14 in the Cup quarterfinal. However, their title hopes went up in smoke in the semis as they succumbed 10-7 to Samoa and they failed to make the podium after losing 22-14 to USA in the bronze final.

Following their triumph in Dubai, the Blitzboks will enter their home tournament as top seeds and have been drawn in Pool A with Ireland, Great Britain and the USA. Dubai runners-up Argentina will face Fiji, France and Spain in Pool B, while defending champions Samoa will face old foes, New Zealand, as well as Australia and Canada in Pool C.

The Springbok Women’s Sevens, who finished 10th in Dubai, will face France, Canada and the USA in Pool C. France and Canada were losing semi-finalists in Dubai and USA made it into the last eight, where they were knocked out by eventual winners, Australia.

Australia, Fiji, Japan and Spain make up Pool A while Dubai runners-up New Zealand have been grouped in Pool B with Ireland, Brazil and Great Britain.

With a balanced squad, a home crowd unlike any other cheering them on and a favourable draw, the Blitzboks are well worth backing.