Mike Greenaway
The Blitzboks will start the Cape Town Sevens on Saturday with challenging fixtures against Ireland at 11.44am and Argentina at 6.41pm.
The South Africans were good in stages in Dubai last week but ultimately sunk to a sixth-placed finish and they will be determined to make a good fist of this tournament in front of their home supporters.
For Donavan Don, last weekend’s season opener felt like his Springbok Sevens debut all over again, something the Blitzbok flyer is sure will happen again in Cape Town, where the DHL Stadium will play host to the second tournament of the 2025 HSBC SVNS series.
Don made his Blitzbok debut as a 21-year-old in Hong Kong in 2023 and played in Singapore a week later for a satisfying start to his sevens career, which then stalled. He looked set for a proper season last season, but due to injuries, he only played in Perth in January this year.
Come the new campaign, Don was keen to grab his opportunity and did so last weekend. Playing at outside centre and on the wing in his first appearance at The Dubai Sevens, he scored four well-taken tries, including a match-winner against France to secure a top finish in their pool on Saturday.
“That was a great feeling and it will stay for me for a while, as it is always nice to score a try that matters, in this case, us winning the pool, which was the first objective for the tournament,” Don said upon the team’s arrival in Cape Town yesterday.
“Unfortunately, we did not follow through on the second day. We reflected on this on our flight home. Cape Town will be something else, as I will also make my debut here if selected.”
Don realises it is going to be tough but the Blitzboks are excited to play in front of their home crowd.
“We must make sure they are rewarded for supporting us,” said Don, who hails from Velddrif on the West Coast.
“We are disappointed with our placing in Dubai, but we can improve this weekend. The tour was great for us as a squad and we bonded nicely. We will be playing for each other this weekend and for the country.”
A new format will be in place this weekend. Each team will play only two pool matches on Saturday, with the four pool winners progressing to the semi-finals, which will make it even more demanding, as teams who lose a pool game will have a very small chance of progressing to the Cup play-offs on Sunday.
“Teams can’t afford to lose, but that will only motivate us more,” said Don. “Our belief is there. The challenge is to bring it all together and we will be up for that.”