Cape Town - Feel it, it is here. The Rugby World Cup Sevens will light up the Cape Town Stadium this weekend, and our beloved Blitzboks are in it to win.
The South African Sevens team begin their campaign against either Chile or Germany tonight (7.03pm kickoff), and coach Neil Powell is hoping that their excellent preparation this week will help the players deal with the pressure of playing in front of an expectant home crowd.
“I’m not saying there won’t be pressure and we won’t be nervous before the games. But again, for us, it’s exactly that – the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we must pitch up for.
“The preparation has gone well on the field. We will function out of a place of confidence and not fear,” the veteran coach said yesterday.
“Sevens evens out the playing field for everybody, and one bounce of the ball and you can find yourself 7-0 down. A strange game, to be honest, but a game that we all love – but a very unpredictable one.
“It (the knockout format) makes it a bit difficult, but it’s basically like a second day at the World Series. It makes the planning a bit difficult, but we prepared for both Chile and Germany, and then we will get either Ireland or England.”
Powell is retiring from sevens rugby and will join the Sharks team in the United Rugby Championship after the World Cup, but Blitzboks captain Siviwe Soyizwapi hopes to make it a memorable weekend for him.
“We are certainly going to try and win it for the coach,” he said. “He has been so instrumental in all our careers, not only as a coach, but also as a mentor and father figure.
“He will be sorely missed once he is gone, but we still have him for a couple of days and must use that time to make sure we give him a proper send-off.”
One last time... Coach @Neil5Powell doing his last pre-tournament news conference as Blitzboks coach. #BestOfUs#RWC7s @WorldRugby7s pic.twitter.com/wIyZN0jyrg
— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) September 8, 2022
The Springbok Women Sevens side will also be in action tonight at Cape Town Stadium as they start their competition against France (6.35pm kickoff).
“We have decided to make this tournament very personal. This is our tournament, our stadium in our country in front of our fans,” co-captain Sizophila Solontzi said yesterday.
“So, each and every player will play with that drive behind them – we are playing for our country after all.”
Some 100 000 fans are expected to attend the 3-day Sevens World Cup – the first to be staged on the African continent.
To minimise traffic congestion, the City of Cape Town will be availing free MyCiTi shuttle services to ticket holders to travel to the stadium.
Buses will depart from the Civic Centre and Thibault Square MyCiTi stations from 8am Friday to Sunday every 15 minutes or when full.