Oosthuizen warns Blitzboks must hit the ground running in high-stakes Dubai opener

Veteran Blitzbok forward Ryan Oosthuizen feels that every match at the Emirates Dubai 7s tournament this weekend will be like a knockout match and warns that a slow start could prove costly to their ambitions of beginning the 2025/26 HSBC SVNS Series on a high.

“The format has changed for this season and it is going to be a dog fight,” Oosthuizen said.

“With only the best eight teams playing, every match will have the intensity of a final and one can expect every match, from the first one in the pool, to be very competitive. We will have to be spot on in our execution from the first minute.

“It’s knockout rounds from game one and our first game is against France. We focused on them this week, to make sure we overcome that first hurdle and take it game for game after that. There’s no time to come back into the game, you must be switched on from the beginning.

Oosthuizen has a phenomenal record in Dubai, winning six of the eight tournaments he has played in so far in the UAE desert. He was concussed early in the pool stages of last year’s 12-team tournament and ruled out of contention for the rest of the tournament that was eventually won by Fiji.

The experienced Blitzbok forward then missed the second leg of the series, in Cape Town a week later, where the home side secured a historic win.  

He will be playing in his 57th world series tournament at the weekend, having made his debut in 2016 and scored 46 tries, and is banking on an experienced core of the team to get them back to winning ways in a tournament the Blitzboks have dominated in the past.

“Some of us have been playing for this team since 2016 and it’s a nice experienced group, and the guys have been training together for years. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and can adapt accordingly," he said.

Eleven of the 13 players selected for the opening tournament also formed part of the squad that won the final tournament of last season in Los Angeles and Oosthuizen feels the experience in the squad could prove decisive in close matches.

"That will help us out of tight spots, I believe."

Only the top two teams in each pool will advance to the cup semi-finals while the rest will play for the minor places. SA are in Pool A with Argentina, Fiji, and France. Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and Spain are in Pool B. 

The Cape Town leg of the series takes place next weekend.