The Blitzboks are the current leaders on the HSBC Sevens World Series and are the team to beat after winning all four tournaments to date in the current season.

The tournament will be played for the first time since 2019 and South Africa the reigning champions.

The Blitzboks skipper, Siviwe Soyizwapi, warns that they should not be distracted by their current unbeaten run of 34 games.

“We cannot expect anything coming our way that we are not prepared to work for, it is as simple as that.

“We have been on the winning side in 34 matches, but that is something of the past. It was also something we had to address, as it is all over the media and many questions on the topic reflect that fact.

“So, there was no way we wanted it to become an elephant in the room for us. It might be a big focus out there, but it is not our focus.

“We spoke about it and then put it aside and I am confident that it will not be an issue this weekend.”

South Africa will face Canada at 6:34 on Saturday morning in their opening game. At 9:40 the Blitzboks take Kenya and at 13:33 they will be up against the USA.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport