South Africa have a plan. It ends with Olympic gold in Los Angeles in 2028. But while such a roadmap necessitates a certain level of patience from players and fans alike, there remain some staging posts that are non-negotiable. 

“Cape Town will always be a tournament we target,” South Africa head coach Philip Snyman said, ahead of his team defending the HSBC SVNS Series title they claimed in such style 12 months ago. “Winning last year was a massive high for us.” 

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Winning the 2024/25 Grand Final was another ‘high’. 

It is eliminating the inconsistency in performance in-between, while ensuring all eyes remain fixed on the future, that is taking up all of Snyman’s energy right now. 

“The biggest thing that we want to achieve going forwards is to be a little more consistent,” admitted the man who saw his side finish ninth in both Hong Kong and Singapore last season, before pulling off that surprise dénouement. 

“I think we have enough depth in the squad to be consistent throughout the season, even though our biggest goal for the season is to blood new players and to give players opportunities and to make sure that when 2028 comes each of our players have had enough tournaments under their belts.

“For this squad, LA 2028, is our long-term goal, and obviously we need to put things in place now for us to be able to reach that goal. We have certain criteria.”

‘We have brilliant players’

Snyman knows he has a demanding balancing act. On the one hand he states, “one of our goals is to aim for every single semi-final this season” and on the other, he admits, “if two players train well instead of picking the more experienced guy, we might go for the younger guy that’s a little bit more energetic and to get him onto the park and get his experience up”. 

Pool A losses to Fiji and defending league champions Argentina on the opening day of the season in Dubai meant the Blitzboks missed their first shot at a semi-final. But, final-day victories over Great Britain and Spain were encouraging. 

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“We know we have brilliant individual players and if we can fire as a collective this team is really one that can beat any team,” Snyman said.

And there’s another key objective to add to the mix. “When we laid out all the goals for this season, one of the goals was to be successful in Hong Kong.” 

There is a personal tinge to this one for the head coach, having played in two losing finals during his 10 years on the national sevens team. That is part of a winless streak in the sevens’ mecca for one of rugby’s greatest powers. 

“A team like Fiji is always successful in Hong Kong. New Zealand always performs well. So, we need to find a way this season, but one thing you can’t do is put unnecessary pressure on yourself,” the 38-year-old said.

The solution may just chime with the team’s overarching aim, he reckoned. “Maybe we need to give some youngsters the opportunity to bring their energy into it, into a tournament that they haven’t experienced before.” 

‘I want to be known as a defensive team’

Whatever South Africa achieve this season, Snyman is adamant they will do it by sticking to their core identity, and adding just one thing. 

“I want to be known as a defensive team, because I know all of our guys can attack,” he said. 

“Everybody has good feet in our team, but because we’re not the biggest, we put a lot of emphasis on our defence. People think we are an attacking team, but I’d like to see us as a defensive team, because if we can defend, we know when we have the ball in hand the guys can do the damage.”

The statistics back the coach up. While players like Selvyn Davids and Donavan Don light up pitches across the globe, the Blitzboks had one of the highest tackle completion rates of any team on the circuit last season. It is quite a combination. 

“It’s a very exciting team to coach, I learn so much every day,” he said. “The diversity in the team, we have different languages, different backgrounds and different players that get your heart running. 

“We have a structure, we have the broad outline, but inside that structure, the players must still feel they can be themselves.” 

With that, it is off to Cape Town to please a demanding public who, much like Snyman, want success now and in three years’ time.