Captain Philip Snyman says the Blitzboks have the motivation to deliver a performance worthy of winning their maiden Sevens World Cup title.

South Africa have failed to win the Melrose Cup in the previous six editions, but Snyman believes that the class of 2018 has the ability to change that in San Francisco this weekend.

‘The format of the tournament is a straight knockout, so we will not win this if we lose any matches – that is the reality. We need to start well and then build our performances from that.

‘We have been training well so far. The first couple of sessions had the lungs burning and the legs pumping and it was tough following our long flight from South Africa, but we have some confidence from the World Rugby Sevens Series win. We played in the last two tournament finals, and won the last one, so we have some form and momentum.’

The Blitzboks face either Ireland or Chile in their first World Cup game on Saturday, and Snyman has warned his charges against complacency.

‘Our first match will be against Ireland or Chile and if we think we can just show up because we are the first seeds, we will be in for a massive surprise.

‘We have seen, especially in recent tournaments, that literally any team can beat any other at this level. So there is no way we can dare to underestimate either the Irish or Chile. Both are capable of beating a regular on the series if that team is not 100 percent on song.’

Photo: Steve Bardens/Getty Images