A HELE 57 tournaments into his SVNS career (and 154 tries later), Siviwe Soyizwapi returns to Hong Kong for a sixth time, older and wiser.
But the former captain is as as determined as he was in 2016, when he made his Blitzbok debut at the Hong Kong Stadium.
This time around, a new venue in Kai Tak Stadium awaits at the Hong Kong Sevens, but for Soyizwapi and his teammates, the mission remains the same: to deliver a performance that will not only justify their hard work on the training pitch but also maintain the high standard that is demanded by playing for your country and representing the Springbok badge.
They also want to improve their position in the world series, with South Africa (62 points) currently in fourth spot on the log, behind Argentina (68), Spain (66) and Fiji (62).
Grouped with Uruguay, Australia, and New Zealand, the Blitzboks will have their work cut out to make the playoffs in Hong Kong. The Uruguayans (11.56am kickoff) are up first on Friday, while they also take on Australia later in the afternoon (2.39pm). New Zealand will wait for them on Saturday morning (7.43am).
Apart from the 32-year-old Soyizwapi, Ryan Oosthuizen (53) and Zain Davids (50) also broke into the “very experienced” bracket of players, while Gino Cupido will play in his first tournament for South Africa while Tristan Leyds and Zander Reynders travel to Hong Kong for the first time.
Soyizwapi said as the team departed Cape Town on Sunday for the fifth tournament of the 2025 season: “We leave here [Cape Town] well prepared and determined to succeed.
“We are aware of our log position and the comfort in that is that it shows our growth as a team. We want to be in the top four in every tournament and we are getting there, so the confidence is growing that we are on the right track.
“The one thing I came to realise over time is that it is the performance on the day that counts and that you must always be ready for those. Hence my comfort for this tournament, as we prepared very well. The growth of the squad in recent times shows in the performances this far, we are becoming contenders in each tournament we play in.”