Cape Town - Cecil Afrika says the Blitzboks have already forgotten about their victorious Dubai campaign because “any team can beat anyone on any given day”.
He emphasised the unpredictability of the abbreviated game after coach Neil Powell announced an unchanged side for the Cape Town leg, which gets underway at Cape Town Stadium today.
And despite the Blitzboks’ solid performances last week in Dubai, where they thrashed Zealand 40-0 in the Cup quarter-finals and dethroned Fiji 26-14 in the final, Afrika believes that they will have to start over this weekend because, well, it’s anyone’s game.
“Sevens is a very unique sport. Any team can beat anyone on any given day. We’ve forgotten about Dubai. It’s a new start now. So hopefully we can make the team proud and play good rugby,” he said.
The experienced Afrika also believes that Powell’s men are mentally ready for the pressure of defending their home title.
“Our mental state is really in the right place. We don’t really focus on other teams,” the 28-year-old said.
“I know you can get distracted because our family is here, but we’re just gonna focus on what we need to do as a team and do our utmost best here.”
Afrika added that the Blitzboks, who he reckons are the smallest team on the World Sevens Series circuit, have to perform optimally to combat any possible onslaught by the opposition - a task they have taken to well.
“We are the smallest team on the world circuit so we just have to make sure, whether it’s on attack or defence, that we are mentally and physically ready,” he said. “Because that’s where other teams are going to target us. So we have to make sure that we’re at our best to not get dominated at the breakdowns or in the tackle.”
Meanwhile, skipper Philip Snyman agreed that his side have to start from scratch in the Mother City.
“I think from that first game against Russia it’s going to be important for us to lay the foundation again,” he said. “We’re going to have to do the small things right. So we’re fortunate that we can go into this with the same team, and that we don’t have any injuries.
Snyman, who took over from Kyle Brown ahead of the opening tournament last week after having previously captained the team in four tournaments, said that his permanent appointment has been made easier with the support of other leaders in the team.
“I’m really fortunate to have all the leaders around me; Kyle who’s still there, and Cecil Afrika who’s a really good leader,” he said. “So I don’t think there’s anything else expected of me. “It was a very good start. First one as captain, but it was a team effort. We all played really well. But it’s not going to happen again this weekend. The other teams aren’t just going to hand it to us this weekend, we’re really going to have to be at our best.”
Springbok Sevens squad: Chris Dry, Philip Snyman, Dylan Sage, Kwagga Smith, Werner Kok, Kyle Brown, Branco du Preez, Rosko Specman, Justin Geduld, Cecil Afrika, Ruhan Nel, Seabelo Senatla, Siviwe Soyizwapi
Blitzbok fixtures today:
12.49pm against Russia (match 8)
4.10pm against USA (match 16)
7.56pm against Australia (match 24, final encounter of the day)