Blitzboks in a 'happy place' despite 30-hour journey to Vancouver SVNS

Veteran South Africa Sevens star Ryan Oosthuizen is confident he and his teammates will recover from their lengthy 30-hour journey to Vancouver from Cape Town to “get the job done” at the SVNS this weekend.

Ahead of the fourth leg of the HSBC SVNS Series, South Africa sit in fourth place in the standings, and the 28-year-old Oosthuizen knows the Blitzboks will need to put in a good display in Vancouver and Los Angeles the week after to stay in the hunt for the overall title.

“We realise that we need to deliver on this trip,” said Oosthuizen. “I am confident we will, we worked hard at home, have good experience in the squad and some players are in very good form for us, so that all points to a competitive showing.”

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The Dubai SVNS champions experienced a 30-hour journey to get to Canada, but Oosthuizen is backing his “experienced” side to overcome jet-lag and recover in time for their first match of the tournament against New Zealand at BC Place on Friday.

“Look, it was a long time travelling and one does feel cramped in after a while, adding to a long layover in Frankfurt,” he said. “But we are here now, and the focus will be on how to get the job done this weekend. At least the temperature is down from the heat in Stellenbosch, so that is a good start,” the 46-tournament veteran said.

“We are an experienced group, so by now, we understand the routine of recovering from a long-haul flight such as this and how to combat the effects of jet lag. We are playing on Friday already, so the recovery is key.”

The most experienced member of the squad, Justin Geduld, returns to the set-up after being rested for the Perth SVNS in January. The 56-tournament veteran says the Boks are in a “happy place” heading into the competition.

“Every time you are not selected, it hurts,” Geduld said. “Even though the rest was good for me. Everyone in the squad is keen to play this weekend and that bodes well. There is a good mood amongst the guys and when we are in a happy place, we always play well.”