The next installment in the exciting IRB Sevens World Series starts tomorrow in Adelaide and SA Sevens is ready to defend it’s crown from last year.

The Springbok Sevens won the 2008 final against a powerful New Zealand team and they eventually finished second on the Series log behind their great rivals.

The South Africans shrugged off their disappointing showing at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai with some sparkling displays of attacking rugby in Hong Kong last weekend, where they lost a thrilling final by two points to crowd favourites Fiji.

That performance allowed Paul Treu’s men to regain the outright lead on the Series log (84 points). Another good showing in Adelaide will edge the SA team closer to their ultimate dream of winning the Series outright for the first time.

Last weekend the team lost the services of Philip Snyman who, during the past few months, have developed into a key member of the team. Snyman sustained a hip injury in Hong Kong and have already returned home to Bloemfontein.

Howard Noble has already joined the team as replacement and his experience has allowed him to slot in easily with the rest of the squad.

The Series title is the big prize for Treu, but the experienced coach said his team’s major focus in Adelaide is to come through the pool stages first, and then to approach the knock-out round one game at a time.

“The surface suits us as well here in Adelaide but we’re not going to focus on winning tournaments, we just want to top our pool and then take it from there,” said Treu.

South Africa shares Pool D with the Cook Islands, Japan and Kenya.

Fixtures:

Friday: 17h52 (Aus time): SA vs. Cook Islands
Saturday: 14h27: SA vs. Japan; 18h10: SA vs. Kenya

South Africa in the IRB Sevens World Series 2008/09:

Dubai: Cup Final, won v England 19-12
George: Cup Final, won v NZ 12-7
Wellington: Plate Final, won v Wales 26-12
San Diego: Cup Semi-final, lost v England 19-22
Hong Kong: Cup Final, lost v Fiji 24-26

Current Series Position:
1st, 84 points (facts: www.irb.com)

Source: sarugby.com

Tags: adelaide sevens, sa sevens