They’ve been through the toughest part, but now it’s almost show time for the Springbok Sevens at the Rio Olympics.
A hard slog of 10 World Sevens Series tournaments, a month-long training camp and the selection of a 12-man squad for the Olympics will come to a conclusion on Wednesday when the Blitzboks leave their Stellenbosch base for Rio.
It is an earlier departure than expected, as they were only set to leave on Saturday, but some of the logistics changed that has seen Neil Powell’s team going to Brazil a few days earlier.
And it may be nearly two weeks before the South Africans open their Pool B campaign against Spain at the Deodoro Stadium on August 9 (4.30pm SA time), but they are primed for the challenge in Rio.
Captain Kyle Brown has seen and done it all during an illustrious sevens career, but you could hear the thrill in his voice on Monday at the Blitzboks’ Stellenbosch base when he spoke about what’s ahead and the journey that he and his teammates have taken to get to this point – especially the final squad that was selected, which saw the likes of Bryan Habana and Ryan Kankowski miss out, while Francois Hougaard is one of the official travelling reserves.
“Pretty excited – a little bit anxious, a little bit nervous. But I think that comes with the territory going to your first Olympics, your first multi-sport huge event like this. The number one event in the world. So it’s going to be very special and I am pretty excited for it,” the 29-year-old Brown told Independent Media.
“Ja, it (final selection) was a bit of an emotional roller-coaster. It was always going to be tough – it would’ve been a hell of a lot easier if we had 50 guys and 35 guys got cut instead of just four or five.”
But it’s all about getting that gold medal at the end of the tournament on August 11, and while World Sevens Series champions Fiji loom as the big threat to South Africa’s chances, Brown feels that his team are well prepared for any possibility in Rio.
One particular area of focus was the breakdown, where Scottish expert Richie Gray drilled the Blitzboks on the dark art for a few weeks. “We had a good couple of weeks in camp. We had Richie Gray with us for a while and he is incredibly passionate, and always knows how to lift the vibes – especially when you are going through some very rough rucking sessions,” Brown said.
“The conditioning was good, it was intense as usual. And I think we’ve had some nice time on the field – working on a bit of detail, but it is going to get stronger and better. We have confidence in our preparation over the last couple of weeks. The season went well and we were very happy with what we tried and what we tested this season. Happy with our ups and downs, and we’ve learnt from all of those.
“But most importantly, it’s about how we’ve come together over the last six weeks. It’s important that the guys came together and really started finding each other as a group, and the 14 that are going over are strong, fit and hungry.”
While some of the teams have their X-factor players – the Blitzboks have Seabelo Senatla and Kwagga Smith, to name two, while New Zealand boast Sonny Bill Williams and Fiji had two players in the Dream Team at the end of the season, Osea Kolinisau and Jasa Veremalua – Brown believes that there is another aspect that could prove the difference in winning Olympic gold.
“I think it’s the usuals – New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Great Britain, there will be fantastic sides there. And not to discount the teams in our group. France are going to be very tough, and Spain did incredible well in the Monaco qualifiers, so they will be a handful too,” he said.
“(But what will win gold is) How close the team is. The closest team at the Olympics is going to be the team that does it. When you get through some tough times – and we all know what the sevens tournaments can throw around – you are going to find the team that pulls together the strongest and can work in one direction will be the team that’s the most successful.”
The Blitzboks’ other Pool B games are against France on August 9 (9.30pm SA time) and Australia the following day (4.30pm), with the final day of action on August 11.
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