With a revised competition format that leaves no room for error, the Springbok Sevens know that a single loss could derail their ambitions of securing a home title for the first time since 2015.
Today, the stakes are higher than ever as they prepare to clash with Ireland at 11.44m in the DHL Stadium in what promises to be a tense opening match.
The new tournament layout features only three teams in each of the four pools, with the top team advancing directly to the semi-finals. This means that any hopes of progressing with just one loss on the first day have practically vanished, placing immense pressure on the players to deliver a winning performance right out of the gate.
Impi Visser: “There will no be no second chances, we will have to execute every opportunity” - more here: https://t.co/OfGWkM50ba 👊#Blitzboks #PoweredByUnity #HSBCSVNS
South Africa have never beaten the Irish in Cape Town and that will bring even more pressure. In six meetings between the two sides, the Springbok Sevens have only won one.
Argentina, their second opponent at 6:41 pm, currently holds a three-match win streak over their hosts and there will be desperation from the Blitzboks to dethrone the current holders of the Cape Town title.
Impi Visser, co-captain of South Africa, said they will go all out in their quest for a rare home victory, but they would've liked to play in a full tournament.
“I am not a big fan of the format.”
“I am not a big fan of the format,” he said frankly about the abbreviated fixtures aimed at improving player welfare.
“Purely because people want to see us play at home and they look forward to the tournament every year. And now, it's only four games they get to see us play. It is a bit of a letdown for the fans.
“But on the other hand, it raises the stakes for us to be at our best and realise we must take all our opportunities. Going into this weekend is basically the saying 'one bullet, one kill' and that has to be our mentality going into the matches.
“If we can keep our ball and play our game, we will be successful.”
“If we can keep our ball and play our game, we will be successful.”
According to Visser, they blew a bit hot and cold in Dubai and made some silly errors that they won't get away with today.
He added that they have all the firepower amongst the players to put together good performances, but when they fail to do that, it hurts the team.
“It is disappointing when that happens because you know how good the players are. You are disappointed in yourself as the leader and everyone else in the team feels they let the guy next to them down.
“The guys realise this is a weekend where we must leave everything on the field. We can't hesitate and wait for someone to spark something. The mentality of the guys is that of ‘I have to put my hand up’. We know we can become the number one team in the world again.”