South Africa captain Kyle Brown is making his 50th appearance in the HSBC World Sevens Series in his hometown tournament but the only special event he has in mind is lifting the Cup.
The Blitzboks are one of the favourites going into the second leg of the 2015-16 series with Fiji‚ England and New Zealand the other major threats‚ even though they lost in the quarterfinals in Dubai last week.
South Africa are aiming for their third consecutive title on home soil after winning the last two in Port Elizabeth‚ but they will have to do it without current World Player of the Year Werner Kok and experienced playmaker Cecil Afrika‚ who are both out injured.
In Cape Town‚ South Africa are drawn in Pool B alongside last week’s finalists in Dubai‚ England‚ as well as fellow African teams Kenya and Zimbabwe.
“Nothing special is planned but there is a little more excitement bubbling under the surface than usual‚” Brown said. “I’m keen to get on to the field to see how that plays out.”
Coach Neil Powell has drafted in Rosko Specman and Dylan Sage for the injured Afrika and Kok this week. But it’s not only SA that have injury problems. New Zealand had to bring in five new players after Dubai‚ a sure sign that the shorter version of the game is becoming more physical.
On the face of it the Blitzboks have a favourable Pool and should cruise into the last eight‚ but as last weekend showed‚ nothing is easy in Sevens anymore.
The USA upset SA 21-19 in the quarterfinals last weekend and Kenya and England‚ in particular‚ could ruin the home team’s party if they are complacent or over-confident.
SA and Kenya have met 42 times on the circuit with the Blitzboks enjoying 37 wins and only four losses to the east Africans in that time.
Against England the head-to-head is much tighter. In 62 clashes SA have won 33 and England 29 times. The last time they met was in April in the final of the Tokyo leg‚ which England won 21-14.
“Our goal is always to top the pool after day one‚ but it won’t be easy because England‚ Kenya and even Zimbabwe will be tough‚” Powell said.
“You can’t take anything for granted. Our focus is on Zimbabwe in the first game and if we win that we will move on to focus on Kenya.”
The tournament is a sell out with over 100000 fans expected to attend over the two days in sweltering conditions.
Pools:
Pool A
Fiji
Argentina
Scotland
Russia
Pool B
England
South Africa
Kenya
Zimbabwe
Pool C
USA
Australia
Wales
Portugal
Pool D
New Zealand
Samoa
France
Canada — Tiso Black Star Group Digital
Blitzbok Brown has a 'little more excitement bubbling under than usual'
The Blitzboks are one of the favourites going into the second leg of the 2015-16 series with Fiji‚ England and New Zealand the other major threats‚ even though they lost in the quarterfinals in Dubai last week.
South Africa are aiming for their third consecutive title on home soil after winning the last two in Port Elizabeth‚ but they will have to do it without current World Player of the Year Werner Kok and experienced playmaker Cecil Afrika‚ who are both out injured.
In Cape Town‚ South Africa are drawn in Pool B alongside last week’s finalists in Dubai‚ England‚ as well as fellow African teams Kenya and Zimbabwe.
“Nothing special is planned but there is a little more excitement bubbling under the surface than usual‚” Brown said. “I’m keen to get on to the field to see how that plays out.”
Coach Neil Powell has drafted in Rosko Specman and Dylan Sage for the injured Afrika and Kok this week. But it’s not only SA that have injury problems. New Zealand had to bring in five new players after Dubai‚ a sure sign that the shorter version of the game is becoming more physical.
On the face of it the Blitzboks have a favourable Pool and should cruise into the last eight‚ but as last weekend showed‚ nothing is easy in Sevens anymore.
The USA upset SA 21-19 in the quarterfinals last weekend and Kenya and England‚ in particular‚ could ruin the home team’s party if they are complacent or over-confident.
SA and Kenya have met 42 times on the circuit with the Blitzboks enjoying 37 wins and only four losses to the east Africans in that time.
Against England the head-to-head is much tighter. In 62 clashes SA have won 33 and England 29 times. The last time they met was in April in the final of the Tokyo leg‚ which England won 21-14.
“Our goal is always to top the pool after day one‚ but it won’t be easy because England‚ Kenya and even Zimbabwe will be tough‚” Powell said.
“You can’t take anything for granted. Our focus is on Zimbabwe in the first game and if we win that we will move on to focus on Kenya.”
The tournament is a sell out with over 100000 fans expected to attend over the two days in sweltering conditions.
Pools:
Pool A
Fiji
Argentina
Scotland
Russia
Pool B
England
South Africa
Kenya
Zimbabwe
Pool C
USA
Australia
Wales
Portugal
Pool D
New Zealand
Samoa
France
Canada — Tiso Black Star Group Digital
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