Snyman praises 'special' Blitzboks performance in New York

In the wake of his team’s HSBC SVNS Series win in New York, Blitzboks head coach branded his team’s efforts this season as ‘special’.

The South Africa coach watched from the touchline for the past fortnight as his team won titles in Vancouver and New York to lock up the SVNS 1 title.

Level with Fiji on points in the overall standings ahead of the weekend’s matches at Sports Illustrated Stadium, it took a dramatic 10-7 win over the Pacific Islanders in the men’s final to secure the team’s fifth Series crown.

“This was special, not because of the execution of play, but the heart and intensity to play for each other that was shown out there,” Snyman said.

“They showed what Springbok Sevens stand for and played for that jersey, and as a coach, you cannot be prouder of such an effort.

“The defensive effort was something else from minute one until the last play. In the final sequence of play, Fiji created an overlap here and there, but the guys never gave up, and they could not get through.

“How some of those players got into some defensive positions to cover, I don’t know. But what I do know is that drive from within to get there. That is what we are about.”

All season Snyman has rotated his Blitzboks squads and handed young talent the opportunity to develop alongside seasoned Series veterans.

This included debuts in Vancouver and New York for Grant de Jager and Jayden Nell. Even though the young guns did lend their weight to the back-to-back tournament wins in the Americas, it was the experienced Selvyn Davids and Impi Visser that led the way.

Now the team has a month to prepare themselves for the first leg of the HSBC SVNS World Championships in Hong Kong before additional tournaments in Valladolid and Bordeaux.

“The senior players bought in and started to contribute, and every new player coming in had the backing of support of the senior guys as well and that made it possible to continue with that plan,” Snyman said.

“We are not done yet. We need to keep growing and improving. We will have a rest now but will come back as determined for the three tournaments of the World Championship.”