If SA Sevens coach Paul lived here in Hong Kong, this week his name would probably be Wot Wen Wong! 

Ja, Ja… I know I’m trying to be funny, but please see it as my attempt to ease the disappointment of the last two weekends when the BlitzBokke delivered arguably their worst performance in a very long time.  I’m sure the Boys and the entire management probably feel worse because of their performance in front of a very partisan and expectant crowd, not to mention their scores of supporters around the world, many of whom had to sit up in front of the TV/PC screens into the wee hours of the morning because of the global time difference.  Hopefully the team will have a thorough analysis of “What Went Wrong” before they break for the festive season.

My comment

Those of you who follow my scribbling here on BlitzBokke.com may have noticed that I rarely give my 2-cents when it comes to match/tournament analysis.  I have always felt that this website is a platform for fan-support and that there are many others more qualified to speak on that subject.  In fact, each one of us, in our own way, have our own opinions and wouldn’t necessarily want to read yet another bloke’s take on things. Having said all that, allow me to get some issues off my chest:

Cooking without Gaz

The BlitzBokke were shown up for not having a “gas-man” on the field.  With apologies and much respect to veteran Marius Schoeman, but with age, he has lost some of the pace he was renowned for.  Unfortunately, Paul Treu also had to cope with the inevitable loss of players to Currie Cup & Super Rugby and this time around was no different, having lost Lionel Mapoe and Robert Ebersohn to the 15-man game.      

Rayno Benjamin will today know the extent to which he let his side down.  He is probably the only experienced gas-man left with Renfred Dazel still out of contention and Vuyo Zanqa having retired as a player.

Loss of composure

It was very frustrating to watch the panic set in after the BlitzBokke allowed their opposition to run up a sizable score.  Despite the Coach’s half-time plea for them to settle and work the ball through the phases (against Fiji), they panicked and threw the ball all over the place with gay abandon.  This often resulted in turnovers and the inevitable score against them.  Sure, they had lost their Captain in Paul Delport, but where were the other leaders like Mzwandile Stick, Mpho Mbiyozo and Neil Powell to steady the ship when composure was needed? Which brings me to the next point:

Change of tactic in Dubai & George

For some reason, the Team decided that this season, the BlitzBokke will take their opposition on up front instead of playing the typical Sevens game of running the ball and avoiding contact.  Arme Frankie Horne is seker BLOU vanoggend! (Poor Frankie Horne is probably severely bruised this morning!) Playing that game-plan against especially the Fijians was suicide and it showed.  (Lesson #2: don’t call the Fijians “King Kongs” on international  television, Coach!)

Granted, this change could have been prompted by the loss of players such as Renfred Dazel and Vuyo Zanqa who, like the legend Fabian Juries, has flair in abundance and can conjure up tries seemingly out of nothing.  They weren’t available so we needed a plan B.  However, Stick is still there and Cecil Afrika showed some real magic touches this weekend! 

So what happens when Dazel returns?  Do we still play the bash’em-up-front game when we have the services of an exciting trio of Stick, Dazel and Afrika to add the flair and Benjamin and Mentz as gas-men?  In my opinion this new game-plan is not a workable option.  South African Sevens is known for their entertaining and exciting play so let players like the exciting Cecil Afrika, MJ Mentz and Rayno Benjamin (when he sorts out his shoddy behaviour) loose on the pitch. We have enough strength up front when  it is needed. I believe that is what the spectators and the fans want to see.

Empty stands

I have to say that while the George Sevens is growing in stature in the IRB Sevens World Series, it is rather embarrassing to see the stands run empty whenever the BlitzBokke weren’t playing.  Sure, people are disappointed but that’s no reason to leave the stands and not support the other not-so-big sides.  The SA edition of the Series was broadcast to millions across the world and it was not a good reflection on South Africa.  Suggestion: allow the fans to have their beer ON the stand, magtag!  George must be the only host on the circuit where fans are not allowed this right.  The decision (law?) to only sell beer from one tent was a daft one and should be changed.  Pronto!

See you in February 2010

Enough ranting now.  I was delighted to see Vuyo (Vick) Zanqa and Renfred Dazel on the sidelines at George.  I’m sure Dazel was chomping at the bit for his inevitable comeback!  It’s also very pleasing to see that SA Sevens has retained Vick in the loop, albeit in a management capacity.

The IRB Sevens World Series returns with the New Zealand Sevens on 5-6 February 2010.

Updated Score-table for Day 2 of the George Sevens

The South African BlitzBokke have left themselves with a bit of an up-hill battle in the Cup Quarter-Finals today by finishing second in Pool A to a rampant Kenyan outfit.  They will take on the “King Kongs” (the SA team’s nicknames for the Fijians) in Game 32 of Day 2 of the George Sevens.

If you remember my previous rants about the inclusion of Western Province’s Fijian player Sereli Naqelevuki in the Fijian Sevens side, it seems that I got my wish (SA to play Fiji).

Let’s see if the BlitzBokke can step up on Day 2.  Like BlitzBok Lionel Mapoe would say: “It’s Vital”

(Remember to refresh your browzer regularly for the latest scores)

Bowl Quarter-Finals (winner coloured RED)

25 ZIMBABWE 17 - 22 RUSSIA             

26 SCOTLAND 10 - 21 UNITED STATES 

27 WALES 23 – 0 TUNISIA                        

28 PORTUGAL 28 - 17 FRANCE                 

Cup Quarter-Finals

29 KENYA 24 - 12 AUSTRALIA               

30 ENGLAND 19 - 22 NEW ZEALAND   

31 SAMOA 19 - 26 ARGENTINA               

32 FIJI 21 - 17 SOUTH AFRICA     

Shield Semi-Finals

33 Zimbabwe 12 - 35 Scotland

34 Tunisia 21 - 26 France

Bowl Semi-Finals

35 Russia 24 - 5 United States

36 Wales 24 - 7 Portugal

Plate Semi-Finals

37 Australia 5 - 24 England  (Half-time: AUS 5 – 10 ENG)

38 Samoa 7 - 10 South Africa (Half-time: SAM 7 – 5  SA)

Cup Semi-Finals

39 Kenya 14 - 17 New Zealand (Half-time: KEN 14 – 12 NZ)

40 Argentina 14 - 19 Fiji (Half-time: ARG 14 – 5  FIJI)

Finals

—————————————————————————————————————

Shield Final

41 Scotland 28 - 19 France 

(Half-time: SCOT 14 – 12  FRA)

—————————————————————————————————————

Bowl Final

42 Russia 5 - 14 Wales 

(Half-time: RUS 0 – 7  WAL)

—————————————————————————————————————

Plate Final

43 England 21 - 7 South Africa 

(Half-time: ENG 14 – 0  SA)

—————————————————————————————————————

Cup Final

44 New Zealand 21 - 12 Fiji

(Half-time: NZ 7 – 0 Fiji) 

—————————————————————————————————————

(From irb.com)

Only Fiji, Samoa and England enjoyed 100% records on day one of the South Africa Sevens in George, 24 fine matches that paved the way for an enthralling set of Cup quarter finals on day two.

Last weekend’s Dubai champions New Zealand went down 24-22 against Samoa, the team they beat to claim the first Cup title of the new IRB Sevens World Series and South Africa drew with Kenya 12-12 in the last match of the day, Mzwandile Stick’s fine conversion from the touchline denying the Kenyans a famous victory.

Pool A:

Even without five of the star backs who helped them to the title here last year, South Africa started in George with two impressive wins. Cecil Afrika scored a hat trick as they beat France in their opener, before they overwhelmed neighbours Zimbabwe.

Elsewhere in the pool, Kenya also kicked off their campaign in impressive style, Innocent Simiyu scoring three in their win against Zimbabwe before they also raced to victory against France.

In the third-fourth match in the pool Zimbabwe were too strong for lacklustre France.

Fiji tops Pool B

Dubai Cup semi-finalists Fiji were unbeaten and relatively untroubled at the end of the first day. They kicked off their tournament in South Africa with a 50-7 win against Portugal, were then were made to work hard by the ever-improving Russians, who scored first through Igor Galinovskiy and then trailed by just two points one minute into the second half before William Ryder hit top form with three tries to propel the Fijians to victory.

Fiji then improved again in the day’s penultimate match to outclass Australia 31-0, Osea Kolinisau scoring two of their five unanswered tries.

Earlier, the Russians provided something of a shock by drawing a fine match with Australia, who recovered to put in a better performance and beat Portugal three tries to one.

Samoa boss Pool C

Last weekend’s winners in Dubai, New Zealand, were beaten in their opening match by table-topping Samoa, the same team they beat to take the first title of the season.

Sherwin Stowers scored two of his six tries in the day – the leading mark – as the kiwis started well in both halves, but the Samoans hit back quickly, Reupena Levasa outstanding and captain Lolo Lui slotting a drop goal that proved crucial to the outcome.

Wales’ new young team then came from behind to edge USA in a fine game, but had no answer to the impressive Samoans in their next match.

New Zealand recovered from their opening loss to see off the young USA side in their second match, and then scraped past Wales in unconvincing fashion to reach the Cup quarters.

Samoa topped the group by beating the USA 10-7 with a try in the dying seconds by Afa Aiono.

England unbeaten in Pool D

England went unbeaten on day one with victories over Tunisia, Argentina and Scotland. Ben Ryan’s side was impressive in its first match against Tunisia, newcomer Christian Wade and Jake Abbott both scoring two to help the Dubai semi-finalists romp to victory.

In the first match of the day Argentina ground out an impressive win against much-improved Scotland, but they then got their tournament back on track with a win against Tunisia, while England got the better of Argentina.

In the final match of the pool England had Dan Norton to thank, the speedy centre crossing for two tries as they beat Scotland 29-19.

Pool A (points in brackets)

1 Kenya (8 points)

2 South Africa (8 points)

3 Zimbabwe (5 points)

4 France (3 points)

Pool B

1 Fiji (9 points)

2 Australia (6 points)

3 Portugal (5 points)

4 Russia (4 points)

Pool C

1 Samoa (9 points)

2 New Zealand (7 points)

3 Wales (5 points)

4 USA (3 points)

Pool D

1 England (9 points)

2 Argentina (7 points)

3 Scotland (5 points)

4 Tunisia (3 points)

Fixtures for Day 2 of the George Sevens

25 ZIMBABWE 0 – 0 RUSSIA                  1/4 final Bowl

26 SCOTLAND 0 – 0 UNITED STATES 1/4 final Bowl

27 WALES 0 – 0 TUNISIA                        1/4 final Bowl

28 PORTUGAL 0 – 0 FRANCE                 1/4 final Bowl

29 KENYA 0 – 0 AUSTRALIA                1/4 final Cup

30 ENGLAND 0 – 0 NEW ZEALAND    1/4 final Cup

31 SAMOA 0 – 0 ARGENTINA               1/4 final Cup

32 FIJI 0 – 0 SOUTH AFRICA                1/4 final Cup

33 Loser Game 25 0 – 0 Loser Game 26 SF Shield

34 Loser Game 27 0 – 0 Loser Game 28 SF Shield

35 Winner Game 25 0 – 0 Winner Game 26 SF Bowl

36 Winner Game 27 0 – 0 Winner Game 28 SF Bowl

37 Loser Game 29 0 – 0 Loser Game 30 SF Plate

38 Loser Game 31 0 – 0 Loser Game 32 SF Plate

39 Winner Game 29 0 – 0 Winner Game 30 SF Cup

40 Winner Game 31 0 – 0 Winner Game 32 SF Cup

41 Winner Game 33 0 – 0 Winner Game 34 Final Shield

42 Winner Game 35 0 – 0 Winner Game 36 Final Bowl

43 Winner Game 37 0 – 0 Winner Game 38 Final Plate

44 Winner Game 39 0 – 0 Winner Game 40 Final Cup

South African Sevens, Outeniqua Stadium, George Day 1, December 11, 2009

(Refresh your browser regularly for the latest scores from George)

 Game-by-Game updates of the first day of the George Sevens. (winner coloured red)

Game 1: Scotland (5) vs. Argentina (15) 

Game 2: England (45) vs. Tunisia (0)

Game 3: New Zealand (22) vs. Samoa (24)

Game 4: Wales (15) vs. USA (12)

Game 5: Fiji (50) vs. Portugal (7)

Game 6: Australia (14) vs. Russia (14) DRAW

Game 7: South Africa (38) vs. France (14)

——————————————————————————————————————-

Try: Cecil Africa (6:08 mins to go)

Conversion: Mzwandile Stick

Try: Chase Minnaar (4:40)

Conversion: Mzwandile Stick

Try: Mzwandile Stick

Try: Cecil Africa (0:40)

Conversion: Mzwandile Stick

Try: Mzwandile Stick (after hooter)

Conversion: Mzwandile Stick

Half-time SA (33) France (0)

Try: Delmas (FR)

Conversion: good

Try: Cabot (4:30 to go)

Conversion: good

Try: Cecil Africa

——————————————————————————————————————-

Game 8: Kenya (50) vs. Zimbabwe (0)

Game 9: Scotland (26) vs. Tunisia (14)

Game 10: England (17) vs. Argentina (7)

Game 11: New Zealand (57) vs. USA (0)

Game 12: Wales (0) vs. Samoa (26)

Game 13: Fiji (31) vs. Russia (12)

Game 14: Australia (21) vs. Portugal (5)

Game 15: South Africa (29) vs. Zimbabwe (5)

——————————————————————————————————————–

Delport injured but stays on (4:20 to go)

Delport replaced by Cecil Africa (3:10)

Try: Sibanda (ZIM)

Try: MJ Mentz

(Mentz gets a boot in the nose by a ZIM player after scoring try)

Half-time: SA (5) – ZIM (5)

Try: Marius Schoeman

Try: Cecil Africa (5:17 to go)

Conversion: Mzwandile Stick

Try: Deon Helberg

Conversion: Mzwandile Stick   (SA 24 ZIM 5)

Try: Deon Helberg

FT 

——————————————————————————————————————–

Game 16: Kenya (33) vs. France (7)

Game 17: Argentina (43) vs. Tunisia (0)

Game 18: Samoa (10) vs. USA (7)

Game 19: Portugal (21) vs. Russia (12 )

Game 20: France (5) vs. Zimbabwe (31)

Game 21: Scotland (19) vs. England (29) 

Game 22: New Zealand (17) vs. Wales (10)

Game 23: Fiji (31) vs. Australia (0)

Game 24: South Africa (12 ) vs. Kenya (12) DRAW

——————————————————————————————————————-

(Paul Delport is all but out of the tournament with an injury, Captaincy rests with Stick)

Fantastic attack & defence by both sides.

Try: Innocent Simiyu (KEN)

Conversion: good  (KEN 7 SA 0)

Try: HumphreyKayanga (KEN)

Half-time: KEN (12) – SA (0)

Yellow Card KEN (5:30)

Two scoring opportunities by SA wasted by bad passes.

Try: Mzwandile Stick (3:30)  (KEN 12 - SA 5)

SA seems to have run out of breath!

Yellow Card KEN

Try: Deon Helberg

Conversion: another fantastic pressure conversion by Mzwandile Stick!

FT

Springbok Sevens management yesterday announced the withdrawal of one of their most-experienced players.

Ryno Benjamin was withdrawn from the Springbok Sevens team today because of disciplinary reasons, the BlitzBokke’s team management announced.

Paul Treu confirmed the inclusion of Shaun Venter in place of Benjamin, who is one of the senior contracted players in the SA squad.

 Shaun Venter will play in George from today (Pic: SA Rugby) 

The Springbok Sevens will defend their SA Sevens tournament title on Friday and Saturday at Outeniqua Park in George.

BlitzBokke.com finds it hard to understand why an experienced player like Rayno Benjamin would “breach team protocol,”at his home tournament of all places.  I remember seeing Rayno and some of the other BlitzBokke at the Joe Bananas nightclub in Wan Chai (Hong Kong) over the the last few years and thinking, how many guys their age would let their hair down after a hard 3 days of Sevens rugby, on a hectic Wan Chai evening and only drink water?!

That’s how disciplined these guys are.  I can confirm that not many of he other teams’ players I saw partying in the area were as professional as our Boys, especially with the Adelaide Sevens looming a week away.  That is the “team culture” that Paul Treu is cultivating.     

“Ryno breached our team protocol and I had to make a difficult call. We are a closely knitted family and our team culture is very important to us,”explained Treu.

“It was not an easy call to make, especially so close to the tournament, but rules are rules and the healthy state of the team is more important than any individual.

“I am very satisfied with the team’s preparations and the players are looking forward to playing in front of their home supporters,”said Treu.

The BlitzBokke for the George Sevens are:

1.Mpho Mbiyozo

2.Chase Minnaar

3.Frankie Horne

4.Cecil Afrika

5.Marius Schoeman

6.Kyle Brown

7.JW Jonker

8.Shaun Venter

9.Paul Delport (captain)

10.Mzwandile Stick

11.Deon Helberg

12.MJ Mentz

Look at this picture, Rayno. You’re not only letting your fans down. We expect better from you…

If any non-South African is unfortunate to be reading this, do yourself a favour and pull over the nearest Capetonian to explain the meaning of “Jou ma se…”! 

I am told by my spies on the Cape Flêts (yes, that’s how you say it) that they don’t use the original version of “Jou ma se… ” anymore. No my Lanie… there’s a much harsher swear word doing the rounds and he’s from a small island far away from the grim Flêtse of Cape Town.

Be that as it may, I have made my peace with the fact that Sereli Naqelevuki will be playing for his native Fiji in George.  The fact that he’s been re-signed to play for the Stormers in the Super 14 next season… now that is going to take a little longer to work through.

Another big oke who will grace the pitch at Outeniqua Park from tomorrow is Todd Clever.  Yes, he was clever to exchange his American playing strip for the Johannesburg-based Auto & General Lions, where his physical presence was felt by the opposition in the Super 14. 

Now, I’m not from JoBurg so I don’t know if the JoBurgers see old Todd quite in the same way as we Capetonians see Naqelevuki.  If anything, whenever Clever Todd (I know, I know) touched the ball for the Lions, one wouldn’t ordinarily hear the JoBurgers collectively utter a despairing “Ooooooh Nooooo.”  In fact, I think the bloke’s a rather decent ball-player.

If the tugging of BlitzBok Mzwandile Stick’s dreads in Dubai last weekend was anything to go by, the other 15 teams in this weekend’s South African Sevens can forget about pulling the big American’s trademark locks.  Any untoward tugging will immediately be sanctioned by a penalty.

Unless they can pull off a Thierry Henry move.

Wat smile djy my broe?! (Sereli Naqelevuki, Pic: Western Province RFU)

Springbok Sevens coach, Paul Treu, says the passionate George crowd will provide extra energy and motivation for his team when they defend their SA Sevens tournament title on Friday and Saturday at Outeniqua Park.

The South Africans won their home tournament title for the first time in 2008.

Champions of the George Sevens 2008: South Africa!

 An opportunity to make amends

Treu said he is still very disappointed that his IRB Sevens World Series champions could not progress further than the Cup quarterfinals in last weekend’s Dubai event. According to him, his team now have the ideal chance to make up for their below par showing last week.

“The supporters were really fantastic last year and I am expecting the same on Friday and Saturday. Any team will tell you that nothing beats the feeling of playing in front of your own crowd,” explained the SA coach.

He added that the failed attempt in Dubai will not force him to change his approach or his team’s tactics. “We’ve worked very hard during the pre-season and our system has served us well last season. We are missing several regulars from the 2008/09 season, but that is no excuse. This squad is full of talent and we must quickly learn to play consistently well over two days.”

Johnny Bravo in Green & Gold

Deon Helberg, the SA squad member who was onboard the SA Airlink aircraft that left the runway and landed in a nearby street at the George Airport yesterday, took full part in today’s training session at the Saasveld sport grounds.

Deon Helberg (Pic: SA Rugby)

Treu was full of praise for the youngster’s bravery: “He is a young, bright lad and he has no negative effect from the unfortunate incident.

“From what I understood, he actually forced the plane’s door open and helped some of the other passengers to safety. He has slotted in very well into the team environment and I’m sure he will grab his chance with both hands when he gets a chance to play.

The SA Airlink plane that carried BlitzBok Deon Helberg to George (Pic: Sport24)

Helberg joined the squad last week in Dubai as replacement for Marius Schoeman.  Sport24 yesterday reported that BlitzBokke coach Paul Treu has called in the services the team’s lifeskills coach Gavin Swanepoel to help speedster Deon Helberg cope with the after effects of the plane crash he was in on Monday morning.

Swanepoel has been flown down to George to spend time with the team ahead of the tournament, and in particular the 20-year old Helberg after his ordeal.

“We’ve asked Gavin to come down and spend some time with the team,” Treu told SuperRugby.co.za, “Deon says he is fine and that it hasn’t affected him much but with these type of situations you often don’t realise the effect until afterwards.  We are hoping that it will help him and the rest of the team in this situation.”

Meantime, Schoeman has recovered from his calf injury and returns to the twelve man squad as replacement for Neil Powell.

“We are fortunate to be able to replace a stalwart like Neil with a veteran like Marius. He brings a lot of experience to the team and is very motivated to pull on the Springbok Sevens jersey again after suffering so many setbacks last season,” said Treu.

“We always enjoy playing in George,” said New Zealand Sevens Captain DJ Forbes.  “There’s plenty of passionate support for us here and we’d like to continue from where we left off in Dubai.”

Alas, that’s one of the sad realities of rugby in the Cape.  I remember Tank Lanning, writing in his blog on Sport24 after the George Sevens last year, saying how “irritated”  he was at the behaviour of the South African All Blacks supporters in George.  I can only hope that the BlitzBokke will shut that misguided lot up by doing the job on the pitch. Nuff said.

Forbes continues saying: “Sevens rugby is all about moment, and hopefully we’ll play some good rugby this weekend by continuing with our recent performances. It’s not going to be easy though!  “I believe there are some fantastic teams competing on the circuit this season and we’re going to have to be at the top of our game in order to be successful this weekend.”

Meanwhile, the 16 teams competing in this weekend’s SA Sevens are ready to ‘Push the Tempo’ and are promising spectators to look forward to great non-stop rugby entertainment in George this weekend.

Springbok Sevens captain Paul Delport, New Zealand’s DJ Forbes, Patrick McCutcheon (Australia) and Jacques Leitas, the skipper of Zimbabwe all added their voices to the theme of the tournament by confirming their intentions to raise the bar in the 2009/2010 George event.

These four captains, together with the other 16 international skippers, attended the traditional Absa Signing Session in George on Tuesday.

New Zealand kicked off their 2009/2010 IRB Sevens World Series to the perfect following their victory in the Cup final over Samoa in the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens last weekend.

Delport, who was named captain of the Bok Sevens team for the 2009/2010 season, insists that his team has learnt harsh lessons from their experience in Dubai, where the Boks suffered two defeats – against Fiji (Cup quarter-final) and Australia (Plate final).

The SA Sevens team though, who are the reigning champions in George, are looking forward to defending their crown in front of their passionate home supporters at the Outeniqua Park stadium.

“The support we receive in George has always been phenomenal and our team enjoys playing here,”said Delport.

“We’ve put what happened in Dubai to rest and have identified some areas in our game plan where we possibly could have done something different. Hopefully things will swing our way this weekend.

“There’s not going to be any easy games this weekend. We’ve got France, Zimbabwe and then Kenya who will all try to defeat us. But we are the hosts and reigning champions and want to perform on home soil.”

The Australian Sevens team, who defeated the Boks in the Plate final in Dubai last weekend, is also looking to repeat their Dubai heroics in George this weekend.

“We were really chuffed with the result against the South Africans. But our aims are to compete and progress in the Cup draws,”said McCutcheon.

“Our intentions will be to try and improve our performance from our last game – which was against the Boks, and hopefully, by the end of the tournament, we’ll be in with a shout for the Cup section on Saturday.”

Zimbabwe, who joins SA, Kenya and Tunisia as the fourth African team competing in the Emirates Airline SA Sevens tournament, are also looking forward to the challenge of competing in George.

“We’ve played before in George and have also received some vocal support from the locals here,”said Leitas.

“On Friday we play France and then have two tough African derbies against Kenya and the hosts South Africa, who will want to prove a point following last weekend’s tournament in Dubai.”

Meanwhile, the Springbok Sevens team will attend a Sasol autograph session on Thursday at 12h00 at the Garden Route Mallin George. The other 15 participating teams will attend an SA Rugby Coaching Clinic at the Rosemore Stadium at 10h00.

Once again the fans in Dubai have come to the party, both figuratively and literally!  They arrived at The Sevens Stadium in droves to support the IRB Sevens World Series Champions: The men in their brand-spanking new Green & Gold strip.

It was a hard-fought tournament and unfortunately the Boys got unstuck.  Fortunately they have a growing legion of die-hard fans in all the cities where the Series will take place, ready to support them in their quest to stay on top of the Sevens world.

The IRB Sevens World Series continues this weekend with the George Sevens in the Team’s own backyard.  Can they repeat their heroics of last year?  Only time will tell.

However, BlitzBokke.com has to ask the question:

George fans… will you be there to support the Boys?

Let me hear you say:

YEBO! YES!

For the Boys… from the fans: Ons smaak julle stukkend!