Blitzboks humbled and proud to deliver back-to-back World Series titles to SA

Jun 11 • General News, Sevens Rugby • 1571 Views • Comments Off on Blitzboks humbled and proud to deliver back-to-back World Series titles to SA

Springbok Sevens captain Philip Snyman said it is an extremely humbling and proud feeling to return to South Africa as HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series champions for the second time in as many years.

The Blitzboks clinched the series, played over eight months and 10 tournaments around the globe, with a thrilling victory at the HSBC Paris Sevens and in doing so, pipped Fiji for the overall series glory.

“One cannot describe all the emotions – relief, gratitude, satisfaction, pride and gratefulness are just a few of the things we feel as a group,” Snyman said.

“We really took the long road this time around, having to win the final match of the final tournament to win the series. The way the squad responded was hugely inspirational,” according to the captain, who also held the reigns when the Blitzboks won the 2016/17 World Series.

“That said, the effort from the squad over the ten tournaments was equally rewarding. We had good wins, patchy performances, injuries to key players, new faces, but in all of that, we had a system that we believed in, a process that delivers results, a management that work so hard for us and of course, a support structure back home that we play for.

“That is our families, but also our fans, who kept supporting us wherever in the world we found ourselves.”

• The Blitzboks coach, Neil Powell, was named World Rugby Sevens Coach of the Year after the series and Dylan Sage made the Dream Team of the Series.