BLITZBOKS DETERMINED NOT TO ‘PLAY AGAINST THEMSELVES’ IN PERTH

The format of SVNS is tough enough, with five tight games between the top eight teams in the world on any given weekend, so the Blitzboks are determined to not also “play against themselves” at the SVNS Perth this weekend.

They will face Spain, Argentina and Fiji in Pool A of the tournament at the Perth Rectangular Stadium.

Coach Philip Snyman’s span arrived in Perth on Monday following a disappointing fourth-place finish in Singapore last weekend and for Ryan Oosthuizen, it was a tournament he didn’t enjoy that much, given his standards and competitiveness.

Oosthuizen said after a productive team meeting in Perth: “When we flow, we are very tough to beat, we know that, but playing against ourselves like we did last weekend, created the opposite for us.

“We have seen in Cape Town how tough it is for other teams to beat us when we get it right, so delivering a 40 or 50 percent effort compared to that was disappointing.”

Most of the focus since arrival was on reviews, with recovery another priority, and for Oosthuizen it was good to clear the heads and gremlins that crept into their game with some upfront discussions during video sessions and team talks.

Oosthuizen, who will play in his 60th world series tournament and return to Perth for a third consecutive visit, added: “We are hard on ourselves, we work hard to get to a certain standard and when we do not reach those during a tournament, we don’t take kindly to that.

“There are honest conversations, with egos being put to the side, and team responsibilities ruling the conversations. It is good that the focus was on off-field stuff, recovering and getting the weekend out of the system.”