Blitzboks Eager To Retain SVNS Cape Town Crown

It’s rugby’s biggest party of the summer, a vibrant sports entertainment spectacle that transforms the majestic Mother City into sevens heaven and a festival-like hub of live music and unrivalled vibes.

Kicking off on Saturday, the world’s eight best men’s and women’s sevens sides will vie for glory over two action-packed days. With the new, sudden-death nature of the revamped SVNS Series, every game is crucial. It’s a high-stakes, high-octane oval ball bonanza, and the Blitzboks are hell-bent on repeating their heroics of last year.

Philip Snyman’s men ended a near-decade-long drought when they beat France 26-14 in the final of their home tournament in 2024. They were flawless in front of the Cape Town crowd, winning all of their games, to win the local leg for a fifth time and the first time since 2015.

It proved to be the catalyst for greater success as the Blitzboks went on to return to the summit of the sevens sphere by winning the World Championship in Las Vegas in May. Now, they are no longer hunters; they’re the hunted, and they’re willing and able to defend their turf and their crown against the seven predators who are surrounding them.

Those predators are New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Spain, France, Argentina and Great Britain. Meanwhile, the women’s sides are Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand and the USA.

The Blitzboks famously won their home tournament three years on the bounce from 2013 to 2015 and are determined to start a new streak this weekend. They have a new captain in Impi Visser, who takes over from Selvyn Davids, who shares vice-captain responsibilities with Zain Davids.

With regards to the adjustment of his captain, Snyman said it was a practical decision: “Selvyn is such a key player for us and we wanted to free him up from any added pressures and I want him to just be the brilliant playmaker he is, without any extra burden.”

Overall, South Africa are a settled side with experience and talent in equal measure. They have big, barnstorming bruisers, speed merchants, hot steppers and magicians, and even though the Cape Town competition is just the second leg of the six-round top-tier series, the group will benefit from continuity and synergy built in recent years.

Last weekend’s season-opening Dubai 7s didn’t go according to plan for the Blitzboks. They started well by defeating France 15-12, but successive defeats to Fiji (28-10) and Argentina (19-14) saw them lose out on the semi-finals. However, they finished on a positive note, blanking Great Britain 34-0 and beating Spain 21-12 to finish fifth.

Snyman has vowed that his charges will rectify their first-round mishaps in Cape Town, but they have their work cut out for them as they’ll face Dubai champions New Zealand, as well as Fiji and Great Britain in Pool A on Saturday. Australia, Argentina, France and Spain make up Pool B.

On the women’s side of things, New Zealand, Fiji, Great Britain and the USA have been grouped in Pool A and Australia, Canada, France and Japan in Pool B.

The first pool match kicks off at 10h00 on Saturday when the women’s teams of Japan and Canada go head-to-head, and the action will conclude shortly before 20h00.

The Blitzboks’ three pool games are scheduled for 12h44 (Fiji), 16h00 (New Zealand) and 19h41 (Great Britain), which is the final game of the first day.

 A total of 24 games are on the roster for Saturday, after which the top two teams from each pool will progress to the semi-finals on Sunday, while the other teams will contest the minor placings.

The two finals on Sunday are scheduled for 16h10 (women) and 16h43 (men).

It’s a tough draw for the Blitzboks, but they know how to problem-solve, and with them entering as defending champions, they’ll be at their most focused, which makes it worth backing the hosts to go Bok-to-Bok.

Pool fixtures – Saturday, 6 December:

10h00: Japan v Canada (women)

10h22: Australia v France (women)

10h44: Fiji v USA (women)

11h06: New Zealand v Great Britain (women)

11h38: France v Spain (men)

12h00: Australia v Argentina (men)

12h22: New Zealand v Great Britain (men)

12h44: Fiji v South Africa (men)

13h16: Japan v France (women)

13h38: Australia v Canada (women)

14h00: Fiji v Great Britain (women)

14h22: New Zealand v USA (women)

14h54: France v Argentina (men)

15h16: Australia v Spain (men)

15h38: Fiji v Great Britain (men)

16h00: New Zealand v South Africa (men)

16h42: Canada v France (women)

17h04: Australia v Japan (women)

17h26: USA v Great Britain (women)

17h48: New Zealand v Fiji (women)

18h35: Spain v Argentina (men)

18h57: Australia v France (men)

19h19: New Zealand v Fiji (men)

19h41: South Africa v Great Britain (men)