Earlier today (Monday 14 February 2011) the South African Sevens team made history when they won their first USA Sevens Cup title in Las Vegas.
It was also the first-ever Cup win under the leadership of their inspirational skipper, Kyle Brown.
Needless to say, our sister-website BlitzBokke.com had it’s ear (and all it’s online resources) to the ground from Hong Kong nogal and thoroughly covered the BlitzBokke’s epic Vegas triumph.
The draw for the 2011 Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens takes place later this week and Howzit-HongKong.com will bring you the latest from The Rotunda in Central.
With the Springboks’ US win, the men in Green & Gold have signalled their intention to try and repeat the feat here in the SAR, where they have managed only one inscription on a Hong Kong trophy since 1976, a Plate victory in 2002.
More about the Hong Kong Sevens will follow in the next few weeks as we build up to the world’s finest Sevens tournament.
Catch all the details about the Springboks’ USA Sevens victory on BlitzBokke.com here
If there was ever a challenge set for a brand-new skipper of a Springbok team, the recent call to duty for Kyle Brown is it. His side already decimated due to injury and SuperRugby call-up, the new Springbok Sevens Skipper will be leading what will be a Sevens team made up of primarily young, inexperienced players.
To add to the challenge, coach Paul Treu did not travel with his charges to Australia, choosing instead to remain behind to be by his sick mother’s bedside in hospital.
The senior players, guided by the rest of the BlitzBokke management team will be called upon to lead the preparations for Adelaide with the full knowledge that South Africa is the defending champions in Adelaide while woefully trailing the rest of the top teams on the IRB Sevens World Series log.
Thankfully, the young University of Cape Town player will have in his side one remaining former Bok skipper in Mpho Mbiyozo, ably supported by the other senior players in Frankie Horne, Rayno Benjamin, Chase Minnaar and Cecil Afrika.
Thanks to Treu’s mission of preparing all of his players to be leaders, Brown’s baptism as skipper of the 2008/2009 Series Champions will be less of a baptism of fire. Instead it will be but the next step in his development as a well-rounded international Sevens player.
We wish him and the Boys well in Adelaide and Hong Kong.
Bokke Bo!
(“Kaptein” is an Afrikaans song sung by popular Afrikaans artist Kurt Darren. “Kaptein, span die seile” translated into English means: “Captain, set the sails” While the song is primarily about a bloke and his girl, we chose to use it in this clip because it’s just such a lekker song about a captain getting ready for a challenge!)
