Cape Town – The strength of their bench could make the major difference for the Blitzboks when they take on New Zealand in the Cape Town Sevens semi-final on Sunday (4.34pm kickoff).
While coach Neil Powell has stuck with the same starting line-up in every game at the Cape Town Stadium – he used the same seven players in the Dubai Sevens triumph last week – the reserves have maintained the high work-rate and brought an extra gear in the second half when they have come on to the field.
That is what happened in Sunday’s 33-0 Cup quarter-final win over Wales on a hot day, where Powell took off most of his star figures such as Seabelo Senatla, Cecil Afrika and captain Philip Snyman once the game had been won.
The likes of Dylan Sage and Rosko Specman produced some sparkling runs, with Specman finishing things off in style with a long-range try as well.
“It’s nice to be on the scoresheet, but I think the first seven made it easy for us. We came on and made sure we stuck to the basics and we must just finish it off in the end,” Specman told Independent Media.
“I think that is our strong point last week as well – the bench players don’t want to come on and do something special or out of the system. They just keep to the system and do the basics well.”
The Blitzboks were troubled by Australia’s rush defence in their last game on Saturday, but eventually pulled through 29-7. There were no such problems against Wales, though, and Specman said that the team had addressed the matter.
“I think we are just getting better and better, and the thing of last night is that we were a little bit flat, which is why they closed us down with the rush defence. Now today, the coach told us we must just be a little bit deep, and if they close us down, we know we have the chance to beat them on the outside,” he said.
“One of our goals is that we don’t want to give anyone an easy try. We work out there for each other out there on the field – as you saw in the last two minutes, the work-rate and effort that the guys are putting in. The defence is the number-one priority for now.”
POINTS-SCORERS
South Africa – Seabelo Senatla, Cecil Afrika, Chris Dry, Ruhan Nel, Rosko Specman. Conversions: Branco du Preez (1), Cecil Afrika (2), Justin Geduld (1).
Cup Semi-Finals
4.34pm: Blitzboks vs New Zealand
Independent Media