Blitzbok coach Philip Snyman praises depth-building efforts after Rugby Africa Sevens triumph
Image: Backpagepix
Blitzbok coach Philip Snyman feels the mission to build depth in South Africa's Sevens ranks is well on track after the Springbok Sevens 'A' squad claimed the Rugby Africa Sevens Cup in Port Louis, Mauritius, on Sunday.
They beat Madagascar 26-12 in the final at Labourdonnais Sports Club. Earlier on Sunday, they overcame Zimbabwe 19-12 in the semi-finals and defending champions Uganda 26-0 in the quarter-finals.
'This was a good effort, and I am happy with the way the squad applied themselves and executed their duties,' said Snyman.
'We had eight players who are uncapped at HSBC SVNS level and they all fitted into the system and the team as the tournament took shape. We wanted to give those players proper match time, as it does take a tournament or three before you are ready for the world series, and they responded well.
Sebastiaan Jobb (with ball) helped lead the Springbok Sevens 'A' squad to glory at the Rugby Africa Sevens tournament in Mauritius at the weekend. He praised the tournament as a platform to blood new players.
Image: World Rugby
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'The African teams are very physical, which is always a tough challenge, and then we encountered Madagascar – who play like Fiji with their offloads – in the final, so that was a valuable learning curve for the new players.'
Snyman admitted that the display was far from flawless, despite going unbeaten. The Springbok Sevens 'A' side started sluggishly in the pool stage, opening with a cagey 17-5 win over Nigeria.
The experience of co-captains Mfundo Ndhlovu and Sebastiaan Jobb then came to the fore. Two tries in quick succession by Ndhlovu broke Zambia's resistance in a 33-14 win. Jobb followed that with a hat-trick in the 31-0 win over Burkina Faso in the final pool match.
'It definitely was not perfect, but we got the answers that we came to get out of this tournament. So I think it was a good tournament, especially with all the youngsters that we had, building depth in our squad,' Snyman said.
'One of our objectives was to build depth in the team and give the youngsters the opportunity to play and to know exactly what it is and how it feels to play in a world series event. That's what we achieved out of this weekend. There were a lot of mistakes, but a lot of positives, too.'
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