sandile ngcobo
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- The Blitzboks look to create chances ahead of this weekend’s Cape Town Sevens.
- The hosts are considered favourites, having won the Dubai Sevens title last week.
- Coach Sandile Ngcobo backs his side to focus and cross the line in front of an expectant Cape Town crowd.
Springbok Sevens head coach sandile ngcobo says they are looking to focus and create chances before the Cape Town Sevens on Friday.
After winning their tenth crown in Dubai last weekend, the Blitzboks are seeking their first home trophy since the inaugural Cape Town tournament in 2015.
South Africa will play a difficult Group A match with Fiji, France and Canada at the Cape Town Stadium.
The Blitzboks have made a change to their squad, with Darren Adonis replacing the injured Dewald Human.
Adonis will be participating in his ninth World Series tournament, but will be making his first appearance in the Mother City.
Ngcobo believes 24-year-old Adonis will thrive in the Blitzboks team as they look to create chances in front of the loyal Cape Town crowd.
“We trust him and he has trained in that position before. Every player in our system is unique and we will try to make sure that the plan that we are trying to achieve [works]Ngcobo told reporters at The Cullinan hotel on Wednesday.
“We have a plan that suits our weapons that we have, which is the players. Just doing the little things right and taking advantage of the opportunities.”
“Sevens is a game of chances and we’ve created chances and we haven’t really finished them. We’re working hard to make sure we execute to the core and defensively keep things out. We’ll do that by focusing on ourselves and the process.”
READ | Cape Town Sevens: When the Blitzboks are in action
It has been a year of ups and downs for the Blitzboks. They finished runners-up to Australia in the 2021/22 Rugby World Series Sevens and then bombed in the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town, before seeing manager Neil Powell depart.
blitzbok star impi visser He said that while the Cape Town Sevens can be overwhelming for the home team, he still backed his seasoned campaigners to get ahead.
“We need to realize that it’s a big occasion and you have to soak it all in, especially when you run out in the first game. It’s quite electric and loud, you have to realize how big the stage is, but you just need to take a breath and go inside. together as a team,” Visser said.
“We tried to take it from one of our training sessions because we tried to simulate the same kind of pressure situations. We tried to get as close to the game-related stuff as possible.”
“There are a lot of experienced guys on the field that will keep guys cool in those pressure situations. It’s all about taking it in and listening to the right voices.”
The Springbok Sevens begin their campaign on Friday against Canada at 20:03, before taking on Fiji (11:19) and France (17:00) on Saturday.
