Snyman betting on changed tactics to shake Cape Town curse

The Springbok Sevens are adopting a “tournament mode” for the Cape Town Sevens to try and overcome the extra pressure that inevitably falls on their shoulders ahead of their home tournament this weekend.

Players have over the years spoken about the extra pressure they experience coming into the Cape Town tournament, the hype surrounding the tournament and the weight of expectation that is placed on the team by home fans who want them to dominate and win the tournament.

And while the Blitzboks have won tournaments across the globe, Cape Town in the past few years has been the one they have wanted to win, and the one that has eluded them for far too long.

New coach Philip Snyman knows the highs and lows of the Cape Town Sevens and has a different strategy this week when it comes to preparing for the tournament.

Instead of letting players sleep at home, and see their families during the tournament, Snyman has adopted an incredibly focused outlook for the Sevens and believes the focus should be on the rugby and to try and keep out distractions and sideshows.

DISTRACTIONS

There is an inevitable amount of local media the team needs to do in their hometown and this is understandable, but the extra weight of fans and family during the build up is something that has caused distraction in the past.

Snyman believes that a change is needed and hopes that this change will contribute to the side’s best form in what is a very tense tournament this weekend.

Given the fact that World Rugby have changed the format to four groups of three, with only the winners advancing to the semifinals, the jeopardy surrounding the tournament is a lot higher than any other tournament in the SVNS series and adds to the pressure on the team.

In the new format the Blitzboks can’t afford to lose a game if they have title aspirations and are grouped in a very tough pool with Ireland and Argentina.

“So we've chatted about Cape Town. Obviously, we need to do things differently also and that's something we had at the discussion before. I think the biggest thing for me is to keep things in-house this week,” Snyman told the podcast To the Last Drop.

“We'll bring one or two guys in the squad and who knows, if we feel like we need fresh legs, maybe make one or two changes. It's not going to be that one player had a bad tournament, but maybe we just need some fresh legs into the squad or a little bit of a difference, so somebody that brings something different to the party. So we'll bring two extra guys as we'll train with 15 guys and then announce the squad a little bit later.”

IN-HOUSE

Snyman said he also wants to keep the preparations “in-house” for the team during the build up to the tournament.

“And then also, like I said, keep things in-house during the week and try to minimize the noises from outside, focus on the small circle inside, not spending too much time at home, not going too much with your friends and family.

“On game day, in the past, after the first game, everybody runs up to their families, going to sit in the crowd and then everybody tells you: ‘listen, you're a hero, you're this’, or if you had a bad game, they tell you how bad you were. So I think to put that, keep the noises outside of that circle and to keep it in-house.

“So I think the big thing that we'll change is on game day and especially through the week is to minimize the time with the public outside and not that we don't want to interact with them, but do the same as a normal tour, like handle every situation the same.

“If you rest between a game, go and rest, don't run up to your family. And then at the end of that day, we'll give guys time to go and spend an hour or two that you can spend with friends and family before we come back.”

“So we almost put that aside until after day one and then the same with day two. So I think that will be our approach for Cape Town this year. And I think if we can keep things in-house, things might work out for us.”

The new format has its challenges and pitfalls, as does the pressure in Cape Town, but if Snyman gets it right it may well serve as the blueprint for future tournaments.

HSBC SVNS Cape Town pools:

Women:

Pool A: Australia, Canada, Brazil

Pool B: New Zealand, Japan, China

Pool C: France, Ireland, Spain

Pool D: Great Britain, USA, Fiji

Men:

Pool A: Fiji, Great Britain, Uruguay

Pool B: Spain, Australia, Kenya

Pool C: Argentina, South Africa, Ireland

Pool D: New Zealand, France, USA

HSBC SVNS Cape Town pool fixtures – Saturday, 7 December: