After a long gruelling flight the South Africa 7s team are not going to rest on their laurels as they defend the USA Sevens title in Las Vegas this weekend.
The Blitzboks have won three of the last five USA Sevens tournaments at the Sam Boyd Stadium.
“We had some luck in the past and I’m not sure why we tend to be so successful here, but that means nothing this time around,” said coach Neil Powell shortly after they arrived in Las Vegas on a long haul that started in Cape Town last Saturday evening and saw them transit in London.
“It is always a tough trip. We flew for 11 hours to London, then had a nine-hour layover at Heathrow before we boarded another 11-hour flight to Las Vegas, but it did not bother us in the past.”
The current World Sevens Series points table leaders face Wales and Canada on the first day of the tournament and will not take anything for granted in the Nevada desert - the fifth tournament of the 2017/18 World Rugby Sevens Series.
Ryan Oosthuizen, Selvyn Davids and Muller du Plessis will play in their first Las Vegas tournament, but according to Powell, this will not impact on their performances.
“Generally, we have a pretty experienced squad. Although Ryan, Selvyn and Muller are new to Vegas, they are not new to the system, so it should not be an issue,” Powell told Sports24.
Amongst the experienced group, four players have played in more than 50 tournaments for the Blitzboks and one of them, Cecil Afrika, has scored 210 points at this venue, including 27 tries. The other veterans are Kyle Brown, Branco du Preez and Philip Snyman.
Edited by Grace Narayan
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