Veteran Branco du Preez is confident the Blitzboks can get their new era off to a flying start with a first-ever tournament win at the Hong Kong Sevens this weekend.

Du Preez is also the player with the most tournament wins in a Blitzbok jersey, and he is adamant that they can add another this weekend, where they will face France, Great Britain and Uruguay in Pool B action.

“Yes, the world has not seen the best of us here in Hong Kong, we need to change that,” said South Africa’s most capped player ever with 82 tournaments in the World Series under his belt.

“We still need to show the world we can win this. Yes, we came close a couple of times, but I do believe we can do this – especially if we focus on a team effort and eliminate the small errors in our game.”

A number of his teammates have not run out at the iconic Hong Kong Stadium, nor played in the very popular event which was last staged in 2019 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Du Preez, however, will be playing in his 10th tournament at the famous venue and he has some sound advice for his team members.

“The stadium is really close to the field, so one can get side-tracked easily. I would say to them don’t get star-struck, stay in the game.”

Du Preez and the Blitzboks will arrive in Hong Kong with a new coaching regime consisting of head coach Sandile Ngcobo and his assistant Philip Snyman, who will be first-time coaches in the tournament that will also kick-start the 2022-23 World Series.

“Yes, we have a new coaching team, but the players have been around for a while now and so I believe they should not be overawed by the occasion. It will be important for us to understand what the coaches want to achieve at the tournament and then buy into that. If we do, we should be fine,” ventures Du Preez.

He emphasised the Blitzboks are keen to get the season under way positively: “My feeling is that we need a good start and things will happen for us after. We should never be comfortable with achievements of the past an so we need to build a good innings this year and we have a fresh start here in Hong Kong. If we do that, then I believe we can be successful.”

The Blitzboks’ fixtures:

Friday, 4 November

12:05pm Uruguay

Saturday, 5 November

07:10am Great Britain

11:05am France

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