Here at BlitzBokke.com HQ in far-flung Hong Kong, we are moerse (very) privileged to have dedicated Springbok Sevens fans in all of the cities where the IRB Sevens World Series takes place.  Many of you stay in touch with us by sending in pictures of the BlitzBokke, stories, updates, suggestions or just to say Howzit!  For that we are rêrig (really) appreciative. 

One such fan, Lucy Benjamin sent us some pictures from the London & Edinburgh Sevens to share with you.

Cheers Lucy!

The BlitzBokke at Murrayfield, Edinburgh (Scotland):

The BlitzBokke at Twickenham, London (UK):

What a finale to the 2009/2010 Sevens World Series!  I hope you all enjoyed the Edinburgh Sevens as much as we did here at BlitzBokke.com HQ.  To help you relive the best moments from the Scottish capital, here is a Edinburgh Sevens highlights video that the IRB recently released:

Springbok Sevens coach, Paul Treu, praised Samoa after the Pacific Islanders clinched their first IRB Sevens World Series title at Murrayfield in Edinburgh yesterday, beating Australia 41-14 in the Cup Final.

Earlier Samoa won their quarter-final encounter 19-0 against the Springbok Sevens, and the result meant they only had to beat England in their next match to clinch the Series title and succeed South Africa as the overall champions.

And this they did, albeit in dramatic fashion, beating England 15-12 in an epic semi-final after two pulsating periods of extra-time. The result put Samoa out of reach of second placed New Zealand who lost their semi-final 19-24 against Australia.

South Africa battled without the injured forward-duo of Frankie Horne and Mpho Mbiyozo.

Treu, who led the Springbok Sevens to their first Series title last season, heaped praise on Samoa. “All credit to Samoa, they have really played their hearts out in this tournament. That was probably one of the best semi-finals we have ever seen taking it right up to the last minute of extra time. It just shows you what a lot of heart and commitment, and they have put their soul into this. I am so happy for them, Sevens is just a different ball game now.

“I think it is fantastic for the Series and for Sevens overall that we could won it last season and now Samoa. New Zealand, Fiji and England used to dominate, but there are now more teams capable of challenging for the Series,” said the outgoing World Series-winning coach.

Reflecting on his own team’s below par performance this season, Treu admitted that he was disappointed, with especially their showing in Scotland, where the hosts scored a rare 19-14 victory over South Africa in the Plate semi-final.

The Springbok Sevens struggled to hit top form this year and had to contend with a long list of long term injuries to key players plus the usual disruption of losing players to either provincial duty or Super Rugby commitments.

Last Sunday they ended as runners-up to Australia in the London Sevens at Twickenham for their best showing of the season. But despite the disappointment of the Series, Treu believes that all is not lost for the season.

“We still have the Commonwealth Games to look forward to in October in Delhi and a medal in India will be something special. We also introduced a lot of youngsters like Sampie Mastriet, Branco du Preez, Cecil Afrika and Chris Dry and next year we should benefit from their experience.

“The quality of Sevens is improving every year and you only have to look at the progress of Samoa, Australia and Kenya to realise that there are no more easy games. We learnt a few hard lessons but we will regroup, have a look at our tactic and approach and will be back next time in much better shape,” said Treu.

Samoa ended the season on 164 points, well ahead of second-placed New Zealand (149). Australia finished third with 122 ahead of Fiji (108), England (96) and South Africa (80).

Samoa has turned the tables on South Africa after their loss to the reigning Scotland Sevens champions a week ago by shutting out the Springboks 19-0. 

The BlitzBokke had no reserves left in their arsenal in reply to Samoa’s 3 tries (Levasa, Faosaliva, Mai).  The half-time score was 14-0.

The win sees Samoa take one step closer to also taking over South Africa’s crown as IRB Sevens Series Champions.

The other Cup quarter-finalists are:

England vs. Scotland

Australia vs. Fiji

New Zealand vs. Argentina

The Springbok Sevens are through to the quarter-finals of the Edinburgh Sevens and will face Samoa tomorrow at Murrayfield despite losing their last Pool B match 24-27 against traditional rivals New Zealand.

Hosts Scotland faces England in the last eight after topping their pool, London Sevens winners Australia must overcome Fiji while New Zealand must beat Argentina to reach the semi-finals.

Paul Treu’s team took a while to get going against Italy, but in the end they scored a comfortable 49-5 win. They were made to work harder against a tenacious Russian team, who eventually went down 19-7.

South Africa missed the injured Frankie Horne against New Zealand, for who DJ Forbes (2), Tim Mikkelson and Save Takula all scored tries. Fabian Juries, Ryno Benjamin and MJ Mentz replied for the Springbok Sevens.

Mzwandile Stick was superb in the first match against Italy as he converted all seven tries. Emanuele Leonardi scored for Italy in between tries by Benjamin and Cecil Afrika to make the half-time score 14-5. The Springbok Sevens played much better after the break and scored no less than five tries.

Afrika, Chris Dry, Fabian Juries and Benjamin all got their names on the scorers list as South Africa cruised to an easy 49-5 win.

Russia proved a far more difficult opponent for the outgoing Series champions, allowing the Springbok Sevens to score only three tries. Fabian Juries and MJ Mentz scored before Dmitry Perov dotted down. Hoffman Maritz broke the Russian defence after some desperate tackling to score his side’s only try of the second half.

South Africa ended Samoa’s impressive unbeaten run last Sunday in their London Sevens semi-final encounter at Twickenham and Treu will be hoping that his team can repeat that performance tomorrow in Edinburgh.

Rayno Benjamin makes a run against Italy in Edinburgh (Pic: IRB)

If you’re in South Africa, all the action will be televised live on SuperSport from 10h30.

The Cup Quarter-final draw for tomorrow at Murrayfield is:

Samoa vs. South Africa

Scotland vs. England

Australia vs. Fiji

New Zealand vs. Argentina

The 2010 London Sevens was indeed a record-breaking event.  Not only did organisers manage to gather all the city’s retired Super-Heroes in one place (lol!) but Australia manged to win their first-ever title since  Brisbane in 2002, albeit against a resurgent Springbok side.

(Don’t scroll down, watch the Intro YouTube video before scrolling down)

Intro:

Fast forward to Edinburgh May 2010:

Ladies & Gentlemen, the Springbok Makatini’s: Fabian Makatini & Cecil Makatini  (Pic: David Van Der Sandt)

Cecil Makatini from PE-Burrah and Fabian Makatini from Grahamstown-Burrah! (Pic: David Van Der Sandt)

The ‘big’ question

Now, if I think like (the hugest BlitzBok Fan in Hong Kong) a certain Colleen Thane… I would ask: 

If they are real Makatini’s , just what are they wearing under them kilts??!

Well, if they refuse to say, the 2 Makatini’s may just end up like this:

BlitzBokke.com wishes the Boys all the best for the final tournament of the IRB Sevens World Series.  It may not have gone as we all hoped it would, but we remain firmly behind The Team.  Thanks for the memories, Boys.  Go get them!

Mike Jansen

PS.

The YouTube Lunch-Bar videos may date me (blush, blush!) So if you’re not familiar with the “much moor munches” Lunch Bar ad campaigns… ask your Moms & Dads!

The Scotland Sevens at Murrayfield will be the Springbok Sevens’ last opportunity to win an IRB Sevens World Series tournament this season and coach, Paul Treu will be hoping his team can go one step better than last week and finally lift a Series tournament crown.

Just like the old days… Springbok mentor Paul Treu with the silverware

The addition of Fabian Juries, Mzwandile Stick, Neil Powell and Renfred Dazel last week at Twickenham saw South Africa playing their best tournament of the season. The team lost a thrilling Cup Final 19-14 to Australia and only after Cecil Afrika was bundled into touch in almost the last movement of the match.

The experienced foursome were all still lacking in match-fitness but the extra week’s preparation in Scotland should mean that they will be arriving at Murrayfield in much better condition.

Juries, who displayed moments of true brilliance again against Samoa and Australia when it mattered, will be hoping to do more of the same. He is third on the Series’ list of all-time try scorers with 176 tries.

The Springbok Sevens have shown great consistency on defence and they have created enough opportunities but have struggled somewhat with their finishing. The team will however draw great courage from their draw with Fiji and their two knock-out victories over England and Samoa.

Samoa is leading the point standings with 140 points, seven more than New Zealand who is the only other title-contender. South Africa is in sixth place on 74 points.

The BlitzBokke play their first match against Italy on Saturday morning, followed by clashes against Russia and then New Zealand. For those of you in South Africa, SuperSport 6 will again broadcast all action live from Murrayfield on both days from 10h15 (SA time).

Springbok Sevens fixtures and broadcast times on Day 1:

11h41: SA vs. Italy

15h07: SA vs. Russia

18h55Z: SA vs. New Zealand

The South African squad is:

Mpho Mbiyozo, Chase Minnaar, Frankie Horne, Cecil Afrika, Neil Powell, Renfred Dazel, Fabian Juries, Ryno Benjamin, Chris Dry, Mzwandile Stick (captain), Hoffman Maritz, MJ Mentz.

BlitzBokke fan Lucy Benjamin sent us these images from Twickenham:

Cheers Lucy!

“Eish! Brilliant display against Samoa, BlitzBokke!”

I posted the line above on my FaceBook page after South Africa’s inspiring win over Series log-leaders Samoa.

Like the old days –

Reader and BlitzBokke supporter Trish added from Blouberg near Cape Town.

Very enjoyable!

Susan Van Der Riet chipped in from Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

And that just about summed up the Springbok Sevens Team’s display during the 2010 England Sevens at Twickenham:

A brilliant, very enjoyable display reminiscent of the the ‘old days’ when the Boys captured their very first overall Series Championship Title.

However, the BlitzBokke’s attempts at clawing back their reputation as a championship team was tonight, perhaps a bridge too far.

The Springbok Sevens Team nevertheless reached their first IRB Sevens World Series tournament Cup Final of the season but they could not get the better of a young Australian team who beat them 19-14 in a thrilling England Sevens Cup Final earlier this morning (Hong Kong time) in front of 40 000 spectators at Twickenham .

Coach Paul Treu can however by well pleased by a much better performance by his team. The team has performed below par this season due to so many injuries to key players. Kyle Brown, the stand-in captain, was the latest injury casualty last week when he withdrew with a leg injury.

The return of the stalwarts

Treu recalled Fabian Juries and fit-again Mzwandile Stick and Neil Powell for the penultimate event of the IRB Sevens Series and the experienced trio did not disappoint him.  Powell shone at the breakdown and with some deft handling while Stick again did not disappoint with his boot and even scored a number of exciting tries.

The mercurial Mr Juries

Veteran Fabian Juries repaid his coach for the faith he put in him by doing what he does best: turning games on its head with some exciting footwork that lead to some of the best tries on the Sevens circuit this season bar none.

One defeat only  

The BlitzBokke suffered their only defeat of the tournament in the Cup Final after they played to a draw against Fiji on day one and beat the challenges of England and Samoa in the earlier knockout stages on Sunday.

Wise substitutes in the Final

Treu recalled veteran Juries after a two year absence and the little maestro showed everyone what they have missed when he put on a dazzling display after coming on as a replacement for the hard running Ryno Benjamin.

He first levelled the score with his first touch of the ball after Bracken Henry gave Australia a 7-0 lead. James Stannard then dived over for an unconverted effort to nudge Australia ahead again, only for Juries to step into the spotlight again with an even better solo try (14-12).

A title winning tackle

Henry Vanderglas then scored for Aussies and sweeper Stannard then made a match-winning tackle at the death to crash a flying Cecil Afrika into touch. It was Australia’s first tournament win since their victory in Brisbane in 2002.

The coach’s praise

Treu praised the fighting spirit of his team, especially the efforts against Fiji and Samoa.

“Of course we are disappointed with the final result, but we played much better overall. We decided beforehand to play Fabba off the bench because his fitness is not yet where it must be.

“But he showed that despite an absence of two years out of Sevens that he is still very much a special player. He should be in even better shape for Murrayfield next weekend,”said Treu.

Finally, in his post-Final talk to his charges, Treu said:

“Success is contagious” and added that: “Winning must become a habit”

However, while the BlitzBokke have shown glimpses of their former selves, we wish to add to the coach’s sentiment by warning that:

“Defeat can just as easily become contagious and can also become a habit.”

It is time we start winning the BIG ONES again.

Just like in the old days.

The Springbok Sevens team caused a bit of an upset by denying England a successful title defense at the England Sevens.

The BlitzBokke beat England by 17-12, thanks to a two-try blitz in the first half thanks to MJ Mentz and Rayno Benjamin.  England skipper Ben Gollings was sin-binned halfway through the first half for a deliberate knock-down of the ball.  South Africa sealed a comfortable lead when Cecil Afrika scored after the half-time siren had gone, leading led by 17-0.

England came back strongly in the second half with the 2 Toms, Varndell and Powell both crossing the South Africa whitewash.  The mercurial Ben Gollings converted but it would be the only scores in the match for the defending champions, this despite South Africa losing Neil Powell and Mzwandile Stick who were both yellow carded with 1:44 and 0:55 seconds to go respectively.

The Springboks held on with the score at 17-12 to deny England in the Cup competition.  After the match, a visibly upset England coach Ben Ryan stopped short of blaming poor decision-making by the referee for his side’s loss, but called the South Africans’ tries “soft.”

In the next game, Samoa continued their march to a possible Series title when they beat New Zealand 19-10.

Samoa beat Gordon Tietjens’ New Zealand 19-10 (Picture Getty Images)

The Cup Semi-finals of the England Sevens are as follows:

South Africa vs. Somoa

Argentina vs. Australia