‘That was a special performance,’ says coach Snyman after Blitzboks’ Perth victory

Philip Snyman was full of praise for his Blitzboks team after they claimed the Perth Sevens title on Sunday after a thrilling win against Fiji in the cup final.

Both South Africa and Fiji scored three tries in the final, but the Blitzboks converted all their conversion attempts, while Fiji only managed two to allow Snyman’s team to win a tight final 21-19.

It was the perfect rebound after the Blitzboks only finished fourth in Singapore the week before.

The triumph in Australia was the Blitzboks’ first in the country since 2017 and is their second title of the season, after they also won in Cape Town in December.

Depth of squad

“It was massive for us to finish the tour like this,” said coach Snyman.

“We brought a couple of youngsters with us on tour, made a semi-final in Singapore and won in Perth, so the results were great and on top of that, we have given more players the experience and exposure on the circuit. So overall, I am very happy and proud.”

While Luan Giliomee and Renaldo Young earned their first Blitzbok caps in Singapore and Perth respectively, Snyman also mentioned Sebastiaan Jobb, who returned to the squad after more than a year out.

“We talk about competitive excellence and Jobb is a good example of that,” said Snyman.

“He brought a lot of energy and scored some crucial tries for us, while also making important tackles and turnovers. If we can have three players in each position pushing each other, we will be in a good space.

“We had Impi Visser, Dewald Human, Ronald Brown, Selvyn Davids, Quewin Nortje and Gino Cupido either resting or recovering from injury back home, so we needed the younger players to get this experience and all will be better because of it.”

Improvements

The Blitzbok coach was proud that the issues that hampered their performances in Singapore a week ago and were addressed upon arrival in Perth, were eliminated, something he credited the players for.

“We had to keep the ball for longer, we needed to improve our strike rate in the opposition’s 22, and we needed to create pressure points on defence, forcing turnovers and then striking,” he said.

“We did all of those this weekend, so I am happy we could turn it around and played with much more control and precision.”

Snyman said the victory in the final came down to composure, gritty defence and good discipline.

“In the final we kept our composure and kept the pressure up. They did come back after we scored two early tries, but the players stuck to their guns and the bench also made the necessary impact to keep them out for three minutes. That was a special performance, and everyone can be very proud of that effort.

“Our aim for the series is to be consistent and make semi-finals. We won two tournaments and made one semi-final, so we are on track with that objective.”