The Blitzboks arrived back in Cape Town as Dubai champions thanks mainly to their impressive defence and breakdown work‚ which has only served to underline how far behind the fifteens Bok are in the same disciplines.

Last week the Blitzboks beat 12-time World Series champions New Zealand 40-0 in the quarterfinals thanks to brilliant contact work.

They did the same to Wales in the semi and Fiji in the final‚ which they won 26-14.

Sevens rugby has evolved to the point where contact skills‚ the need to defend intelligently and to win the contest for the ball on the deck are as important as in the longer version of the game.

Blitzbok coach Neil Powell recognised this and has employed methods that former Bok breakdown coach Richie Gray instilled in the squad when he spent time with them earlier this year.

Gray was deemed superfluous to Bok needs in 2016 although he continued to consult to the Blitzboks until the Olympic Games in August.

Gray has since moved on to fulfil the role for Scotland‚ who enjoyed a superb November by beating Argentina and Georgia and losing to the Wallabies by a point with the last kick of their clash at Murrayfield.

Powell still employs Gray’s methods and the results were spectacular in Dubai as SA won the first of the 10 HSBC World Sevens Series events on the 2016/17 campaign.

Most of their tries were constructed from counterattacks that stemmed breakdown turnovers and stellar defence.

It won’t be long before other teams improve in those areas too.

Clearly the last six weeks in a training camp have benefitted the Blitzboks at the start of the series‚ but their challenge is now to stay ahead of the chasing pack in the coming months.

Playing at home in Cape Town this weekend gives the Blitzboks an edge‚ but also adds pressure as the home team and winners in the Mother City last year.

Captain Philip Snyman is aware of the expectations but also admitted his team were not playing at their best despite victory in Dubai.

"There will be expectations‚" Snyman said.

"Yes‚ it was a great tournament for us in Dubai‚ but there is room for improvement.

"We are far from the best we can be.

"We did well at the weekend and played a very good final against Fiji‚ but there are a number of areas we can improve on this week going into Cape Town.

"It is the one opportunity we have to play in front of our home support and we are really are looking forward to that.

"We really cherish this opportunity.

"It is always nice to have some continuity and confidence going into a tournament and we have some of that now.

"That is good‚ but we also know we can and must improve if we want some results this weekend."

Star playmaker Cecil Afrika understood the significance of the Dubai win after the Springboks endued such a torrid season‚ winning just four of their 12 Tests.

"This has been a challenging year for South African rugby‚" Afrika said.

“We need to focus on our game and ensure we produce the best standards we can." - TMG Digital