Blitzbokke have Olympic gold on their mind
The Springbok sevens rugby side are in the final
preparations for their onslaught on Olympic gold in Tokyo in July.
They fell short of the mark when they had to settle for bronze at the Rio Olympic Games and are hoping that they can improve on that performance in Tokyo.
"The Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world," head coach Neil Powell told AFP. "We got a medal last time but it was not the colour we wanted."
The Blitzbokke have been in preparation for the Games for a long period given that they have not been able to play in over a year.
With no international competition, the first time the Blitzbokke will face another international side will be in Tokyo.
Given the lack of matches, Powell is happy with how his players are preparing for the showpiece event.
"We started in September last year with conditioning and skills development and really got the guys to work hard.
"It's been a challenging time but it’s probably the same for New Zealand, Fiji, everybody who's in sevens."
With players like Cecil Afrika, Branco du Preez and Justin Geduld amongst the recent Blitzbokke players to take the field, often South Africa have been the smaller side on the field.
Despite this fact, Powell knows that his side will always front up physically.
"If you compare us in body shape, we are a lot smaller than some of the other sides.
"But we do work very hard on our contact skills and physicality. But I like to think we are an all-round team, with creative players like Justin Geduld and Selvyn Davids."
