World Cup format levels playing field, says SA Women’s Sevens coach

Cape Town – Springbok Women's Sevens coach Paul Delport believes the format of the Rugby World Cup Sevens might give smaller teams a better chance this weekend.

The tournament, which kicks off at Cape Town Stadium on Friday morning, will feature a straight knock-out format.

Teams will have to win every single game to have a chance of progressing to the Cup finals, and while it will require all sides to be switched on right from the start, it also means that any team – juggernaut or minnow – can drop out of contention at any given time.

Are you ready for Team South Africa to light up the #RWC7s stage in Cape Town this weekend? 🤩#ItIsPersonal pic.twitter.com/2wy1K7g5iU

— Springbok Women (@WomenBoks) September 7, 2022

And in a game like Sevens, one mistake can prove costly.

"It's massive (playing in Cape Town). We have been chatting about it whole week. Everybody wants to play a World Cup at home, so we are really excited," Delport said.

"I really think this format levels the playing field a bit. It gives the underdogs a bit more of a chance. France (SA's first opponents) are a fantastic side, we have done our analysis on them, it's just up to us now to go out and execute it."

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In saying that, Delport also expressed that he doesn't think being the underdogs counts in their favour.

Something that could give them an advantage, however, is the fact that other competing teams don't know what the hosts have up their sleeves.

"I don't think being the underdogs is really an advantage, it's just the way we have run this year, we haven't had a consistent team. So, I think anybody doing analysis on us won't really have a clear picture on us and what our armoury of weapons is, so that is going to be quite interesting," he said.

“I play for my family back home, I play for my mom, my sisters, my nieces, I play for the people…” 💚

This is real and #ItsPersonal 👊#RWC7s pic.twitter.com/KBSLyTRbHM

— Springbok Women (@WomenBoks) September 7, 2022

"We have tailored our plan to the strengths of our players and how they play, so I am looking forward to them expressing themselves.

"The group have gelled brilliantly. I think the goal for this year was just to expose as many talented players as possible to international level. This, barring one or two players, is our absolute best squad we have.

"If you're only missing one or two players, I think you're in a very good position going into this tournament."

Delport went on to explain that one big box they've ticked this season was giving every player a run, which helped sync the players ahead of the World Cup.

"I was fortunate enough to select who I wanted to for the Africa Cup and the Toulouse tournament, and the plan was always to go with more of a developmental squad to the Commonwealth Games and the Challenger Series.

"It worked out quite nicely that everyone had had a chance to play, and this is certainly our best squad.

"I really enjoy working with this group of women, they are competitive and they are resilient. They want to win, but that's not our end goal, we want to focus on our processes.

"I feel that if we execute, we can really put ourselves in with a good shot."

@WynonaLouw