This weekend, the Springbok Sevens team will have the advantage of playing in front of a home crowd. They will be defending the tournament title they won in Cape Town last year, and they will go into the second leg of the World Sevens Series as one of the favourites after winning gold in Dubai last weekend.
Talk about pressure, right? Not really.
Blitzbok utility back Ruhan Nel admitted that the team were feeling the pressure ahead of the Cape Town event, but reassured that they will be playing in front a home crowd makes it a “massive occasion” and one to look forward to.
“The team have touched on it, on feeling the pressure in the build up to the weekend. But we’re not hammering on it,” Nel said.
“We try not to think about it too much. Obviously we know there is a pressure factor seeing that we won it last year.
“But for us to play in front of family and friends once a year is a massive occasion. And I think that’s what we’re going to focus on.”
Another massive occasion happened in Dubai last Sunday, when the Blitzboks outplayed defending World Series and Olympic champions Fiji to lift the Cup trophy. They also swept New Zealand aside 40-0 to show how settled they are as a team.
But the Blitzboks didn’t just bank on their experience. They produced outstanding efforts at the breakdowns and on defence. Nel believes that although a positive start to the new campaign was needed, they need to start over again in Cape Town.
“I think it was very important for us to start positive. But at the same time I have to say that it’s going to be a new beginning in Cape Town,” he said. “It’s going to be a whole new tournament. But we’re very happy with the win in Dubai.”
Asked how the team managed to perform so well last week, Nel added: “I would say the guys stuck to our structures in the important games, when it mattered. They remained calm, they didn’t panic.”
Nel contributed to several tries coming off the bench, and while he says that his situation isn’t ideal, all players are important when it comes to contributing to the game.
“It’s never really nice to play off the bench, but the guys on the bench have just as big a role on the field as the guys who start,” he said.
“And the guys on the field also make it so easy for the guys on the bench. Whether you get two minutes or 30 seconds on the field, you have just as important a role as the guys who start.”
After sustaining a shoulder injury against New Zealand in the Plate final of the Paris leg earlier this year, Nel missed out on selection for the Rio Olympics. The Blitzboks secured bronze in the third-place playoff after losing their semi-final against Great Britain.
All that disappointment seems to have had a galvanising effect on Nel, who is now solely focused on improving his game.
“It was a huge disappointment. I think everyone that was in the system wanted to go to the Games. But I’m very happy with where I am at this point. I will always want to improve and I believe that there are always areas that you can improve on,” he said.
“But I’m happy. The shoulder is holding up and it’s just a learning curve that keeps going up.”