'We weren't good enough': Blitzbok coach reflects on Syndey Sevens final loss to New Zealand
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Loading... - Evans Nikanduma
- 30 Jan 2023
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After a tournament in which they topped their pool and dispatched Fiji in emphatic fashion in the semi-finals, the Blitzboks were taught a sevens rugby lesson by New Zealand in the final of the Sydney Sevens on Sunday.
After beating the Kiwis 17-14 in their Pool B clash, the final played out quite differently. South Africa simply had no answer to the physicality displayed by New Zealand, who ran out 38-0 winners.
Blitzboks coach Sandile Ngcobo said the team expected more in the final and that they simply weren't good enough to win it at the end of the day.
"We lost the physical battle, and that reflects on our attitude in the final. We were not where we needed to be, and we were simply not good enough in the final to win," said Ngcobo.
"Yes, we had a bad patch with injuries to Siviwe Soyizwapi (day one) and Ryan Oosthuizen (day two), and then Jaiden Baron and Impi Visser (day three), which may have caught up with us in the final, but that is no excuse.
"We did not do ourselves justice in the final. But I have to give credit to the team, who came into Sunday with a great attitude and a wonderful performance against Fiji.
It wasn't all doom and gloom, however, as the performance by the Blitzboks, which saw them move into second position on the overall log, was a massive improvement from Hamilton the previous week.
"If I look where we were when we started at the beginning of the year, how we improved from last week in Hamilton and how we played here, that was massive, and those are the things coaches are looking for," Ngcobo said. Read More…
