OPINION: Good signs the Blitzboks have turned the corner

There are some very good signs that the Blitzboks have finally turned the corner after a difficult few years.

During the previous Sevens cycle, leading up to the Olympic Games in France last year, the Blitzboks started well but then fell away alarmingly.

They won a Covid shortened (only two events) Sevens series in 2021, with most of the best teams choosing not to take part, and with a number of sides returning for the 2021-22 season, the Blitzboks finished second behind Australia.

With the series back to full strength for 2022-23 and 2023-24, the Blitzboks flopped badly, finishing seventh and sixth respectively, which almost led to them missing out on the Olympics.

Due to finishing so low in the series standings they missed out on direct qualification for the showpiece event in Paris, and then lost the African qualifier to Kenya, before sneaking in by winning the Repechage tournament shortly before the Games.

Since then, however, the Blitzboks have steadily improved, starting with them clinching the bronze medal in France.

More consistent

This season they have been far more consistent, reaching the quarterfinals of every tournament, and currently sit tied third with Fiji on 62 points, with Spain on 64 and Argentina on 68 the only two teams ahead of them on the points table.

The Blitzboks started the season with their worst showing so far in the series, a sixth place finish in the opener in Dubai, which was surprising considering they had previously won the last five editions of it.

They bounced back from that disappointment by triumphing in Cape Town, which was again surprising as they have previously struggled on home soil in the series.

They have followed that up by finishing fourth in Perth and over the past weekend they were edged 19-12 in an entertaining final at the Vancouver Sevens in Canada.

With the top four teams on this season’s series having broken away from the chasing pack, with France, it is more than likely that one of Argentina, Spain, Fiji or the Blitzboks will finish top.

Only three events remain, two regular rounds, in Hong Kong at the end of March and Singapore at the start of April, before the top eight on the log battle it out in the Grand Final in Los Angeles at the start of May.