South Africa must deliver on home soil – Brown
Having spent much of South Africa’s Cup win in Dubai watching from the sidelines, captain Kyle Brown is looking forward to being in the thick of the action when the HSBC Sevens World Series continues in Port Elizabeth this weekend.
Brown came off the bench in every game as South Africa went on to claim their fourth Dubai title and their first since 2008 with victory over Australia in the final. The win in Dubai leaves South Africa just two points adrift of Fiji in the series standings as they prepare to defend their Port Elizabeth crown.
“Port Elizabeth was a fantastic tournament for us last year and I know the crowds will be raring to go after this,” Brown said. “Very few teams have the privilege of home advantage on the circuit and we have got to make that count.”
South Africa nilled both Argentina and defending series champions New Zealand (28-0 in the semi-final) on their way to the Dubai crown. Not since Fiji beat them 44-0 at the same stage of last year’s tournament in Dubai had Gordon Tietjens’ men been kept pointless in a series match.
“Our character and energy in the defensive line is pretty much what defined us,” admitted Brown. “To beat New Zealand 28-0 was particularly enjoyable.”
Kwagga Smith was South Africa’s first-half hat-trick hero against New Zealand and scored again in the final to take his overall tally for the series to eight tries.
Brown is clearly a big fan. “I really enjoyed the role of playing off the bench this weekend, it makes it a lot easier when you have guys as capable as Kwagga Smith in the team.
“After seeing that first-half hat-trick I could have just sat back and watched the rest of the tournament, but I was lucky enough to get a couple of minutes.
“I still feel a little bit of a loose cannon out there (after missing the Gold Coast tournament though injury) but hopefully I’ll be back up to speed by next weekend and able to make a bit more of an impact.”
South Africa will face Wales, USA and Kenya in Pool at the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens in Port Elizabeth.
Courtesy of World Rugby
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