Back to drawing board for BlitzBokke
South Africa finished a disappointing Wellington campaign with a 15-21 defeat against Australia in the Plate semi-finals on Saturday, prompting coach Paul Treu to say his team will have to go back to the drawing board.
South Africa collected 10 points for their efforts and are joint fourth on the IRB Sevens World Series log with 51 points – a tally they share with Fiji and France.
New Zealand, who finished third in Wellington, still leads the standings on 77 points, followed by Kenya (56) and Samoa (54).
A disappointed Paul Treu, the Springbok coach, said afterwards their inability to be consistent cost the squad dearly in Wellington.
"We did not start the tournament on a good note on Friday and finished in poor fashion today [Saturday]," Treu said.
"With so much experience missing, the team learnt a harsh lesson that you've got to be consistent and to maintain that consistency if you want to advance in this very competitive World Series.
"So again, back to the drawing board and hopefully we can bounce back and deliver a much better performance next week in Las Vegas,” explained Treu.
Branco du Preez will join the Springbok Sevens on Monday in Las Vegas as replacement for debutant Justin Geduld, who broke his hand on Friday against Canada.
Du Preez has now recovered from his niggling hamstring injury which has kept him on the sidelines for three tournaments.
