Blitzboks aim for redemption in Perth after Singapore disappointment

EXPECT the Springbok Sevens to arrive in Perth this weekend with a clear agenda; to do better than last time, as the fourth leg of the 2026 HSBC SVNS gets under way at HBF Park.

After a fourth-place finish in Singapore left the group dissatisfied, the Blitzboks have used the early part of the week in Western Australia to review, reset and refine. Head coach Philip Snyman said he was pleased with how the squad responded after arriving on Monday, with preparation centred on accountability and execution rather than reaction.

The Perth tournament brings immediate familiarity. South Africa will again face Spain and Fiji in their pool, with Argentina completing the group after finishing seventh in Singapore. With three different tournament winners across the opening three rounds of the series, the margin for error remains slim.

Squad tweak as depth-building continues

Snyman has made one change to his matchday squad, handing an opportunity to uncapped Renaldo Young. The Sanlam Boland Kavaliers wing replaces Nabo Sokoyi, who made his debut in Cape Town earlier this season.

The Blitzboks travelled with an extra player on this leg with the intention of building squad depth, and Young is set to become the third newly capped player of the campaign. Sokoyi debuted in Cape Town, while Luan Giliomee earned his first cap last weekend.

“Renaldo has been training very well since he joined us and did really well for the SA ‘A’-side in Dubai last year – I am excited to see what he can do,” Snyman said of Young, who turns 26 next month.

Lessons from Singapore

The disappointment of finishing fourth in Singapore has not been brushed aside. Instead, Snyman said the squad used the review process to confront both physical and technical shortcomings.

“We freshened up nicely, thanks to good work done by our Strength and Conditioning coach, Ghafoer Luckan, and everyone is ready to go,” said Snyman.

“Apart from the bodies that were sore after a physical weekend in Singapore, we also made sure that everyone had a good look at the errors and shortcomings of that fourth placed finish.

“What was encouraging from those review sessions was that instead of finger pointing, there was ownership on mistakes made by all, players and coaches alike and from that grew the desire to rectify and execute this weekend.”

Captain Siviwe Soyizwapi echoed that sentiment, saying the team had been honest with themselves about where things slipped.

“We know how much potential we have as a group, so making silly errors is frustrating. We don’t mind the odd bad call that comes our way, that will happen but dropping a ball or making a bad pass or missing a tackle, those things are on us and no one else can be blamed for that.”

Familiar opponents, sharper demands

Perth will test how quickly those lessons translate into performance. South Africa outplayed Spain for a 21-14 win last weekend but fell to Fiji in extra time after scores were level at 19-19 at the end of regulation.

Argentina, meanwhile, arrive with their own motivation after a seventh-place finish.

“The teams know each other by now and tactically each one will be well aware of what the others bring to the game,” Soyizwapi said.

“We still have some things up our sleeve, but so will the other teams, so we need to be strategic and better in our execution in order to be successful.”

Snyman believes that competitiveness defines the current series.

“We had three different winners in the three tournaments played so far, which gives you an idea of how competitive the series is,” he said.

“Every match is literally a knock-out and all eight teams can win a tournament. Spain would like to bounce back, Argentina would like to bounce back and so do we, while Fiji is right at the top after their win, so it is going to be tight.”

Mindset shift and physical edge

One of the key areas identified during review was physical intent, particularly against larger opponents.

“We need to be a bit more aggressive, especially if we play against the bigger opponents,” Snyman said.

“It does come down to our own efforts though. We can do the homework on our opponents and plan accordingly, but it always boils down to our own effort and how well we execute and that will be the focus for the weekend.”

The Blitzboks will have time to reset mentally before competition begins, with Thursday set aside as a rest day.

“We will have a day off tomorrow and that down time will come in handy as we could go sightseeing a bit, but the mindset is pretty much on fixing what went wrong last time around. We messed up, so we need to fix that ourselves,” Soyizwapi said.

The Perth leg also carries a personal milestone for the captain, who will play in his 62nd world series tournament, drawing level with Snyman. Branco du Preez remains the most experienced Springbok Sevens player with 85 appearances.

For South Africa, though, the focus remains squarely on the present — turning honest review into cleaner execution as another demanding weekend looms.

Blitzboks’ Pool A fixtures:

Saturday 7 February (SA times – all matches live on SuperSport)

5.58am: vs Spain

9.14am: vs Argentina

12.52pm: vs Fiji

Blitzbok squad for HSBC SVNS Perth: Christie Grobbelaar, Ryan Oosthuizen, Zain Davids, Ricardo Duarttee, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Shilton van Wyk, Donavan Don, Sebastiaan Jobb, David Brits, Renaldo Young (new cap), Zander Reynders, Tristan Leyds, Luan Giliomee