Blitzboks found depth in 2019

Given their continued success in the World Sevens Series under coach Neil Powell, the 2018-19 season was probably not one that the Blitzboks will put under their perennial highlights.

While they won two tournaments in a season dominated by Fiji, who swept to five tournaments and the World Series title, the Blitzboks aim at the beginning of the season was to qualify for the Japan Olympics and work their way up from that.

For a team with such high standards, that meant a fourth-place or higher finish and in a season where they blooded a bunch of new players, and had a number of crucial injuries during the series, the fourth-place finish may not have been the ideal one for them, but it certainly achieved the Tokyo goal.

The World Series crown they were defending slipped out of reach by the halfway stage and from there on it seemed it was a race to qualify, with England competing with them to try and snatch that fourth spot and avoid having to qualify through a regional tournament for the Olympics.

It was certainly not something that the back-to-back World Champions enjoyed and while they were frustrated with their own form at times, they did manage to unearth some wonderful talent as they increased the depth in their squad going into the 2019-20 season.

And while this article doesn’t cover the matches from the Dubai and Cape Town Sevens over the past few weekends, a look back to a season where Powell’s patience was tested will make their journey forward all the more memorable.

Most South African Sevens sides base their success on a solid start in Dubai and Cape Town, and the Blitzboks didn’t have this in this series. Moreover, they were playing catch-up after a poor Dubai tournament and things went worse when they got to Las Vegas, before bouncing back with a win in Vancouver that would have boosted the self-confidence again.

While they looked a bit rusty in Dubai, their shock pool loss against Argentina put them on a collision course with England for the quarterfinals, and they were outplayed 22-5 in that match, forcing them to compete for fifth place in a tournament they are normally successful at.

Here they lost out on crucial points as their bogey team Fiji downed them in the fifth place playoff to leave them sixth overall.

The move to Cape Town was one of optimism that the team would bounce back but a loss to New Zealand in their final pool game set them back and underlined the fact the team wasn’t yet where they needed to be.

The disappointed crowd still turned out in droves for the Sunday game as they dispatched Scotland in the quarters, but lost out to Fiji in a pulsating semifinal. A win against New Zealand for third place gave the Blitzboks some consolation as the first two legs closed the 2018 year.

As the 2019 games started, a solid clean sweep of their pool in Hamilton gave some hope to Blitzbok supporters as the team looked exceptional on day one of the tournament.

A win over Samoa in the quarters accentuated that belief until the team hit a wall against Fiji once again, being hammered 29-7 in the semifinal. The exact same scoreline saw them bow out in fourth place, as the All Blacks were way too good for them in the third-place playoff.

Moving on to Sydney, the Blitzboks' struggle with consistency continued as they won their opening two pool games, but went down to hosts Australia in their final match, setting up a quarterfinal against England where they were again outplayed 26-5.

They bounced back to beat Australia and claim fifth place, but were fast realising that a fourth overall spot would be more of a challenge than they expected at the start of the season.

In Las Vegas, a draw with lowly Chile was probably the low point for the team as they scraped through the pool rounds despite a solid win over England in their final pool game. The hosts, USA hammered them 29-10 in the quarters, and they lost to Fiji in their next game, putting them way down on points and starting some alarm bells to ring.

But the bounce back in Vancouver could not have been more emphatic as the Blitzboks romped to the title. They started by vanquishing the memory of the Chile game with a proper 43-0 thrashing and then dispatched Wales and the USA to win their pool.

In the quarters, they downed Argentina with ease before a sensational performance saw them hammer Fiji 31-12 in a one-sided semi before beating France in the final.

Young JC Pretorius made the dream team and Selvyn Davids was the top scorer, showcasing some of the young talent that was coming through even though the team was struggling.

Hong Kong proved to be the bogey the team has struggled with and their goal of winning the tournament is still as elusive as ever. Even through the Blitzboks had a clean sweep of the pool stage, they were beaten by the USA in the quarters and then lost to Argentina to lose out on some valuable points in the Olympic race at the same time.

Again though, the grit shone through as they bounced back in Singapore, beating Fiji in the pool rounds and again by a single point in the final to take the title and give themselves not only a boost in confidence but some exceptionally vital points in the series.

Wins over Samoa and USA en route to the final proved that when the team get it right they are unstoppable with both Werner Kok and Justin Geduld starring in the victory.

By London, they had secured their Olympic spot, but the tournament was a dud, losing to Australia in the quarters and then to New Zealand to secure seventh spot as their consistency struggles continued. In Paris, they claimed bronze after a semifinal loss to New Zealand and a win in the third-place playoff against USA.

In all, it was a disappointing year as defending champions to relinquish their crown but it could be argued the Blitzboks finished the season with more depth, and a deeper meaning of introspection as they continue to be one of the most successful sporting teams in the country.