Cape Town - A lot of hard work must go into reaching your 50th World Sevens Series tournament, but Blitzbok scrumhalf Branco du Preez believes that his “parents, coaches and Blitzbok brothers” played a big part in him reaching the milestone.
Du Preez, who will join an elite group of players including Frankie Horn (68 tournaments), Kyle Brown (57) and Chris Dry (56) to have racked up 50 tournaments, was keen to taste success again at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas this weekend - the fifth leg of the World Sevens Series.
“I’m sure there were a couple of people who did not expect me to get to this mark, but here I am,” Du Preez smiled. “This was due to hard work, but first and foremost it was because of my parents, who always had my back.”
“Then all my coaches through the years and now, my Blitzboks brothers. It is a massive honour. The best way to celebrate this will be for us to do well in this tournament.
“I also want to thank everybody in South Africa who supports us.”
Du Preez was part of all three Springbok Sevens squads that have won titles in Las Vegas since the US leg of the World Series moved there in 2010, and he is, of course, hoping for another win.
“I have tasted success here and it’s a good feeling,” said Du Preez.
“In a way, it’s nice to play my 50th tournament here, because Las Vegas has been good to me in the past,” Du Preez said.
Meanwhile Blitzboks’ captain Philip Snyman is another man fast approaching the 50-tournament landmark.
Snyman, who has played in 43 tournaments, still gets excited about the idea of running onto the field. And nothing will change this weekend in the Nevada desert.
“It’s hard to believe we are almost halfway through the series, but that does not take away any of the fun or commitment from the team,” Snyman said.
And even though the Blitzboks have been victorious in three of the four tournaments in the 2016/17 Series, Snyman said his team will have to “start from scratch” this weekend.
“We still need to start from base, even after five tournaments. Nothing that happened in the first four will mean anything here in Vegas.
“We need to start from scratch, but have the hindsight of what worked previously. Those are laying a solid foundation, building momentum and believing in our structures and teammates.”
The experienced player, who has scored 246 points in his Blitzbok career so far, is comfortable with the abilities of the squad, despite it being without the likes of Kwagga Smith, Kyle Brown, Tim Agaba and Seabelo Senatla.
“We have lost some personnel, but there are some new faces coming into the mix and fitting in very well,” he said.
“I think we have prepared brilliantly and everyone
is on the same commitment level.
“There is a good vibe in the squad and we want to get going.”