Fans enjoying at the Rugby World Cup Sevens at Cape Town Stadium. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/ Independent Newspapers
Sun, colourful outfits, lots of food and drinks stalls, being in the Mother City – what’s not to love about the Cape Town Sevens?
Well, for the Springbok Sevens team, the pressure of playing in front of a home crowd.
The Blitzboks will go into this weekend’s World Sevens Series tournament at the Cape Town Stadium in great form, having claimed the Dubai Sevens title last weekend.
But that has been the case many times before, as the South Africans clinched their fifth crown in a row in the United Arab Emirates.
Yet, they last won the Cape Town title in 2015 ...Some of the players have spoken this week of wanting to do it for the fans, but that also adds extra weight on their shoulders. We know how the Blitzboks supporters usually pack out the Cape Town Stadium, and it’s a thrilling atmosphere at full capacity when the SA side do their thing.
But hopefully coach Sandile Ngcobo will embrace that kind of expectation instead of fearing it.
Ngcobo said this week that it will be important for his squad to “cut out the noise” that comes with a home event, as fans clamour for photos and videos whenever the players are at training or out and about in the city centre.
Perhaps the fact that they have a good mix of experienced heads such as Rosko Specman, Zain Davids, new captain Selvyn Davids and Justin Geduld alongside youngsters such as Quewin Nortjé and Katlego Letebele will be the difference this weekend.
Of course, there is also a longerterm goal of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, something the Blitzboks were unable to do last season after they ended seventh on the World Series log.
They need to prove to the SA Olympic committee, Sascoc, that they are worthy of being sent to the final qualifying tournament in June through their performances during the season.
Winning the Cape Town Sevens would be an ideal statement of intent that they can make it to the Olympics, while also expelling their “hoodoo” on home soil, having last reached the final in 2019.
Let’s go, Blitzboks!
Cape Times
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