Cape Town Sevens: Thumping tackler Oosthuizen only focussed on the present

Ever so often in sport, a player will do something utterly audacious. A bicycle kick overhead here, Cheslin Kolbe turning Owen Farrell into a turnstile there or Ryan Oosthuizen tackling a Samoan player so hard, you could almost feel it through your TV screen.

The Blitzboks pride themselves on their defensive game and few times has it been more apparent than on the opening weekend of the 2019-20 World Series Sevens in Dubai.

In Dubai, South Africa’s 83 tackles over the course of six matches was second only to New Zealand’s 97.

But that difference says more about the Blitzboks than their opposition. The two sides squared off in the final of the opening round with the Blitzboks keeping their opposition scoreless – an emphatic message if you missed the memo before.

But South Africa also have another asset:  a kinship within the side that always puts the team first on and off the field.

It’s no surprise then that just one South African, Oosthuizen, was in the top ten individual stats for most tackles in Dubai. The official Sevens site puts his tally at 12, but it’s that thumping one that most will remember.

Oosthuizen missed a tackle earlier in that same match. But that tackle wasn’t a release of frustration. It was just, as the cliché goes, focussing on the processes.

“I’m very focussed on my defence. So when I miss a tackle, I take it quite personally,” the 24-year old explains.

“But that tackle was just an opportunity that presented itself. He wasn’t really looking at me, so he didn’t see my coming at him from the inside.”

South Africa are drawn in tough pool for the Cape Town Sevens over the weekend. They’ll face Japan, a Fijian side who’ll be furious after failing to progress to the cup knockouts in Dubai, and an unpredictable USA team.

This year’s event in the Mother City will stretch across three days, to allow for the women’s tournament to be played alongside the men’s.

While Cape Town’s weather is as difficult to predict as which colour a chameleon might turn on a Rubik’s Cube, Oosthuizen reckons if the mercury rises, teams form the other side of the equator might struggle a bit.

“Dubai has helped prepare us for the heat to come. And the practice sessions we had in Cape Town before that was also in the high 30s. I think some of the northern hemisphere sides will struggle a bit if it gets hot,” he says.

The South African leg of the Sevens circuit moved to Cape Town in the 2015-16 season, with the Blitzboks winning it that same year. They finished second in the World Series by the end of the season, before claiming back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, but not winning their home tournament.

While the country’s SOEs might be losing, South Africans have been winning around the world in 2019. From the Springboks in the Rugby World Cup to Zozibini Tunzi being crowned Miss Universe. The Sevens side is hoping to carry on the habit.

“We also want to unite the country (like the Springboks) and make them proud of us as the Blitzboks. We now want to do the same in Cape Town after getting off to a good start in Dubai,” Oosthuizen says.

Beyond Cape Town lies a long season on the World Series Sevens circuit as well as the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

If you’re into omens, here’s one that stands out. South Africa’s won the World Series Sevens title thrice. On all three occasions, they did so after finish first at the opening round in Dubai.

Other teams have done similar, of course, but the Blitzboks are the only side to repeat that pattern every time. But Oosthuizen isn’t going to get drawn into such elaborate superstitions.  

“The vibe in the camp feels a bit like it did in 2017, but I don’t really want to focus on the title. It’s in the back of our heads, but right now we’re simply looking at the first game against Japan on Friday.”

The omen of how much South Africans like to win in Tokyo is a bridge that hasn’t even been built yet, then.

South Africa will play their first pool game at the Cape Town Sevens against Japan on Friday, 13 December, at 20:03.  They play Fiji on Saturday at 13:51 followed by the USA, also on Saturday, at 20:03.

All finals will be played on Sunday, starting from 11:28.