Sandile Ngcobo said that while he was displeased with the Blitzboks’ attitude on the final day of the Cape Town Sevens, he was satisfied with the overall progress that has been made since the opening tournament in Hong Kong. DYLAN JACK reports.
After an impressive day two on Saturday saw the Springbok Sevens secure their place in the semi-finals, their hopes of a first piece of home silverware since 2015 were dashed by Samoa on Sunday afternoon.
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To add further salt to the wounds, the Blitzboks failed to get a podium finish as they were beaten by the USA in the third-place playoff.
“It’s not good enough. I’m not happy with the effort and the attitude leading up to the fourth game [against the USA]. Not happy at all,” said Ngcobo at the end of the tournament.
“We were tired because there were a few system errors defensively and we were overworking as a result. That’s how you make yourselves tired.”
Ngcobo admitted there were also some learnings for himself and his coaching staff from his first experience of the Cape Town Sevens as a coach.
“The big thing was the switch from a two-day event (in Dubai last weekend) to a three-day event and how that impacts on your squad,” he said.
“I realised that squad depth is much more important in a three-day event like Cape Town, compared to Dubai, played over two days. We perhaps did not quite have the depth we needed on our bench this weekend, so that is something I will take on board going forward.”
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While the Blitzboks struggled to break eventual champions Samoa down in the semi-finals, Ngcobo was satisfied with their performance on attack.
“Sevens is a game of opportunities and I think we used our opportunities in the whole tournament. On day three, we just missed our opportunites, but we created them so I am not really concerned from a creativity point of view.
“It’s more the execution point of view, because the deeper you go into finals, you get fewer and fewer opportunities and you have to use the chances that you get.
“Overall, I am happy with how we have grown from Hong Kong to where we are right now with the players that we have.”
On the positive side, the Blitzboks’ results from the past two weekends in Dubai and Cape Town mean they are still at the top of the World Series standings.
The top four teams at the end of the season will gain automatic qualification to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“We are happy with where we are, as this is where we want to be,” said Ngcobo.
“We decided at the beginning of the season that we want to finish in the top four and get that Olympic qualification in the bag, so for us to be in this position is a good reward for the work done so far by this group.
“Obviously, a lot of work still needs to be done, as we are at around 70 percent of our full potential, so to be in this position already means there are good things done.”
The Blitzboks will next be in action on 21-22 January in the Hamilton Sevens.
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Photo: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix
