'Kings of the Desert' Blitzboks have a tricky assignment at Cape Town Sevens
Fresh off their title-winning exploits at the Dubai Sevens over the weekend, the Blitzboks will begin their preparations for the Cape Town edition as the pools for the tournament were announced on Monday.
South Africa have been drawn in Pool A alongside Ireland, USA and Great Britain. The Blitzboks will be keen to keep their momentum going and claim a second title of the season. They will also have qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics on their minds, with that still not yet achieved after a notably poor season this term.
An interesting draw in Pool B will see Argentina, Fiji, France and Spain do battle.
Meanwhile, Pool C will see New Zealand take on Samoa, Australia and Canada.
The French connection
On the women’s side, South Africa are in Pool C alongside France, Canada and the USA.
Springboks women’s sevens player Rights Mkhari has called on Cape Town to bring some vocal support.
“We have always played here courtesy of being the hosts, but this time around, we will compete as a core team in the 2024 HSBC SVNS and that makes a huge difference to us,” said Mkhari.
“Our own event will not be a once off opportunity for us and we will come into this as best prepared as we have ever been.
“We are also going to be very competitive, we showed that in Dubai this weekend. Imagine having a huge crowd supporting us in Cape Town. I am calling on all to come and support us, it will mean so much for our squad.”
Cape Town pools – Women:
Pool A: Australia, Fiji, Japan, Spain
Pool B: New Zealand, Ireland, Brazil, Great Britain
Pool C: France, Canada, USA, South Africa
Cape Town pools – Men:
Pool A: South Africa, Ireland, USA, Great Britain
Pool B: Argentina, Fiji, France, Spain
Pool C: New Zealand, Samoa, Australia, Canada]