Exclusive: TheSouthAfrican.com chats to Philip Snyman

After four consecutive years as runners-up in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series South Africa claimed the overall title in the 2016-17 campaign – and with one of the 10 rounds to play, too. Ahead of the London finale Oliver Pickup spoke with Blitzboks skipper Philip Snyman about the country’s first crown since 2009

Congratulations! Did you manage to party after your series win was confirmed in Paris last weekend, or is the champagne on ice until after London?

We have a policy that when tournaments are back to back then we wait until after the second one before we celebrate. That rule has served us well this series, so we have stuck to it now. We want to finish the season on a high, too, so it would be great to cap it off with another win, and if we can manage it at Twickenham then that would be even more special. We know some guys in London, so hopefully they will help us party come Sunday night.

What a season it has been; so far South Africa have reached eight of the nine finals and gained five tournament victories. How has the disappointment generated from the near misses in recent campaigns – including at the Olympic Games last year – fuelled this success?

It has definitely been a big part of it. For the last four seasons we came second, behind New Zealand twice and then Fiji twice, so there was a lot of disappointment there. And then in the Olympics we really wanted to go all the way and lost 7-5 to Great Britain in the semi-finals. We learnt from previous seasons and this time around everything seemed to fall in to place. It has been phenomenal, but it isn’t something that has happened overnight. It has come from our efforts in the last four years, and because we have a superb management team, a good culture and some great players. We are all so happy that we finally have the result we want.

Of the five tournament wins, which has been the most satisfying for you?

Wellington, because we always want to do well there, in New Zealand. And last year we lost to New Zealand 19-14 in the final, and have only previously won once there before, in 2002. So that was quite special. But then also in Paris, having just been confirmed as Sevens Series winners, we did well to get the right result in the final [against Scotland – they won 15-5]. Winning the Sevens Series, but not winning the Paris tournament, would have felt a bit weird. To win both was the cherry on the cake.

Since sevens made it’s Olympic debut last August, World Rugby and Sevens Series title sponsor HSBC have been looking to capitalise on the opportunity in this pivotal season – to connect with new players new countries and new audiences, and continue ground-breaking growth. Newer legs such as the HSBC Cape Town Sevens along with Vancouver and Paris have raised the bar. As a player, how does it feel sevens has developed over the last five years?

The game has grown so much, and quickly. Sevens is quite big in South Africa, and we have loyal supporters, plus an amazing tournament in Cape Town helps raise awareness. We are often approached by supporters in South Africa and feel very grateful to have brilliant supporters back home. Nowadays wherever you go, wherever you travel, people know about sevens, and that hasn’t always been the case. Now stadia are sold out and that popularity has been rising since it was announced that sevens was to be an Olympic sport. That was a massive step in the right direction for the game. I can’t wait to see where it will be in four or five years from now.

Looking ahead to 2018, aside from defending your Sevens Series title, is a maiden World Cup [taking place in San Francisco in July] title a big aim?

Yeah, definitely. After London we’ll take a long break before gathering together again closer to the end of the year for the next season. In addition to the Sevens Series there is the Commonwealth Games in April, and that’s on the Gold Coast. But the World Cup is something that we really want to be successful in. I’ve played in two World Cup’s before and only managed to play in the quarter finals. Hopefully we can continue our good form until then, and beyond.