Blitzboks skipper Selvyn Davids. Photo: SA Rugby website.
Blitzboks carry the weight of the nation
New captain Selvyn Davids says his Blitzboks squad knows and embraces that there is an added layer of expectation thrust upon them when playing in front of their home crowd in Cape Town.
Blitzboks skipper Selvyn Davids. Photo: SA Rugby website.
The Cape Town Sevens tournament hasn’t always been the best event in terms of success for the Blitzboks, but Davids says they are relishing the opportunity to make the home crowd proud this weekend.
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There’s been six sevens tournaments in Cape Town since the South African leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series moved to the Mother City and the Blitzboks have only managed to lift the Cup once, when they won the inaugural event in 2015.
It’s been agonising heartbreak after agonising heartbreak for South Africans (players, coaches and fans) since then and yet everyone harbours high hopes every year when the Cape Town Sevens rolls around.
And it’s no different this year: emotions are high and expectations are even higher, especially after the Blitzboks’ superb display at the Dubai Sevens.
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BLITZBOKS READY TO PLAY TO THE CROWD
Davids says while the Blitzboks are confident that they can live up to the expectations, it’s important to not dwell on the previous Cape Town Sevens results and just focus on the present.
“If we’re going to think about losing previous tournaments, we’re gonna put ourselves on the backfoot,” Davids told a media scrum on Wednesday. “As a team, we’re just trying to build on what he did last weekend (in Dubai), trying to replicate that.”
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The new skipper also noted the importance of knowing when to embrace the crowd and when to shut out the noise over the course of the two days in Cape Town.
“I won’t say playing at home makes it more challenging to lift the Cup, but there is added pressure to perform. Our job is to know when to shut out the noise from the outside and just do what the coaches demand of us.
“The better we can control our emotions, the better it’ll be for the team; although it differs from player to player how they channel those emotions.
“But saying that, we’ll definitely try to meet those expectations as best we can.”
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