The South African sevens team have a clear picture in their heads on what will be needed in the Stade de France at 15h30 on Saturday afternoon when they face France in the semifinals of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
That picture, according to interim head coach Philip Snyman, was partly imprinted by the Springboks 10 months ago when they outplayed France at the same venue in their Rugby World Cup quarterfinal thriller, where three former Blitzbok Olympians, made a significant contribution to the Boks’ one-point victory.
Cheslin Kolbe, Kwagga Smith and Kurt-Lee Arendse all made telling interventions that night and that will inspire the Blitzboks to follow suit, Snyman said.
“We all saw that game and how guts and determination brought the win,” said Snyman. “We are going to need that as well, apart from being clinical, especially on defence.
“France will be boosted by the massive crowd, but like the Springboks, we plan to use that as our motivation as well. They are a team that play well when they gather momentum and play with a lot of flair, but brutal defence is one way to stop that. That will be our aim tomorrow.”
There were no regular day three action at the sevens event as the opening ceremony brought a half to all sporting activities and Snyman feels that will help his team.
“Yesterday was tough and there are sore bodies, so we enjoyed the off day,” he said.
“We had two tough games against New Zealand and faced Ireland as well, so some respite today was welcome. The guys could also relax a bit, but when we have a meeting in the late afternoon, it will be all in again. The focus will be on us and our game and how we achieve the right results for the team.”
Snyman thanked his compatriots from back home and those who also form part of team South Africa for their well-wishes and support.
“I suppose we came in through the back door, but that did not stop people sending us heaps of well wishes and good luck messages. We will do our utmost not to disappoint them,” Snyman said.
The South Africa/France semifinal will be followed the second playoff, between Australia and Fiji, who won the gold medal at the last two Olympic Games.