Springbok Women’s Sevens still focused on Hollywood ending despite shifting goalposts

There will be no Hollywood ending for the Springbok Women's Sevens team, who were dreaming of a quick return to rugby sevens' top table via this weekend's HSBC SVNS Play-off tournament at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles.

World Rugby announced on Thursday that the HSBC SVNS format will change for the next season and that only eight teams will participate in each gender, making it impossible for the South African side to join their Blitzbok counterparts in the elite competition.

A second-tier series with three tournaments was introduced, and Renfred Dazel’s team will now target that to maintain their momentum and standing in the world game.

Only a top-four finish in LA will secure their place in the second-tier tournament, and failure to do so will force them to the regional qualifications route again.

The original format had the bottom four teams in the 12-team HSBC SVNS Series playing the top four teams in the lower tier Challenger Series for four spots in the elite league at the play-off tournament in the US.

The Springbok Women's Sevens head coach is refusing to focus on the dramatic 11th-hour plot twist, however. 

"If you think of the situation last year, it was a format that no one did before, but this one is slightly better because if you top your pool, then you don't have to play any more games, you qualify. And if finish last in your pool, you're eliminated," Dazel said. 

"If you finish second and third, there's one more play-off game, but hopefully we don't go there and we just get through our pool, and we'll see.

"The plan is to set the standard in the first game against Ireland, and take it further from there.

"We played them before and were competitive, bar a lapse or two, and that cost us.

"We are breaking up this match by minutes. We want to make sure we win every minute and play. If we do, the result will be ours."

The South Africans lost their World Series core status in Madrid last year, and according to Dazel, they learnt valuable lessons then.

The former Blitzboks star said the fact that they played all three opponents before will help in their planning.

He feels that defence will be key against China: “They play a lot like Japan – they keep the ball alive and do their swivels, play their deep switches, that is China for you.

“Our defence will be key in that game as I believe our attack is our strong suit and will bring the points, but then we must not concede.”

Dazel said the recent victories over Argentina, as recent as last month in the final Challenger Series tournament in Krakow, Poland, will also act as pointers for their final pool match.

“We played Argentina twice and beat them both times, the last time in the Krakow final, so we have our plans for that match. But first things first, and that will be Ireland.”

Springbok Women’s Sevens Squad

1 Leigh Fortuin 3 Patience Mokone 4 Zintle Mpupha 6 Felicia Jacobs 7 Maria Tshiremba 9 Nadine Roos 10 Mathrin Simmers (captain) 11 Zandile Masuku 14 Simamkele Namba 16 Shiniqwa Lamprecht 23 Ayanda Malinga 27 Alicia Willemse 29 Rights Mkhari

SA Pool B schedule (SA times, live on SuperSport):

Saturday: SA v Ireland (7.44pm); SA v China (11.07pm)

Sunday: SA v Argentina (7pm)