James Murphy has linked up with the Springbok Sevens squad in the USA as they prepare for the HSBC SVNS Los Angeles, to be played at Dignity Health Sports Park from Friday to Sunday.
Springbok legend Jean de Villiers believes it’s no coincidence that the rise in Benetton Rugby’s performances in this year’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship should lead to Italy almost shocking France in the Guinness Six Nations this past weekend.
As a sold-out Loftus Versfeld prepares for another giant North-South Derby between the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday, it’s also taken Deon Fourie back to his high school rugby days and memories of watching this Derby from the stands.
The Springboks – who managed the impressive feat of winning back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles when they lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in France last year – and national captain Siya Kolisi have been rewarded for their achievements yet again by being nominated for top Laureus awards.
The Springbok Sevens’ ninth place finish in Canada, at the fourth HSBC SVNS tournament of the season, was described as frustrating by the teams head coach Sandile Ngcobo, with the lack of consistency at the top the agenda this week as they prepare for their next assignment in Los Angeles.
The increasingly fluid nature of modern rugby as it moves from the Vodacom United Rugby Championship one weekend to the Guinness Six Nations the next and then back to the Investec Champions Cup thereafter is taking some getting used to for players, coaches and fans. But Springbok legend Jean de Villiers believes it does have its benefits.
Zain Davids has travelled to Canada six times and returned with three gold medals, but that has not stopped the Blitzbok forward’s winning appetite, who arrived in Vancouver for a seventh HSBC SVNS Canada tournament.
The back-to-back world champion Springboks will return to the field for the first time since last year’s Rugby World Cup final at the iconic Twickenham Stadium in London when they take on Wales in a blockbuster Test on Saturday 22 June.
The first time Rosko Specman played at the HSBC SVNS Canada in Vancouver, his teammates included Bryan Habana and Ryan Kankowski, and the Springbok Sevens lost to New Zealand in the final.
It took them just over 30 hours to get from Cape Town to Vancouver, but for the Springbok Sevens it is all part of the job and uncomfortable travel will not deter their ambition to deliver a winning performance in Canada this weekend.