I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve played South Africa Sevens, but I will always remember the last game against them. It was my final tournament on the HSBC SVNS Series and the first time that I beat them. 

The fact it took the best part of 10 years to finally come away with a win is a testament to how consistently good they are as a team. And, this year, at the HSBC SVNS in Cape Town up to five other Men’s teams will try to answer one question: how do you beat the Blitzboks in their back yard? 

Last December, they ended a nine-year wait for a Blitzbok title on home soil. It was more than a tournament win, it was a statement to a nation where rugby is so embedded in its culture.

They went on to win the HSBC Grand Final in Los Angeles.

I believe the nation’s pride in their rugby teams is the first super-strength of the Blitzboks. South African rugby is steeped in colourful history — and you can see it in how the players approach wearing the jersey. No doubt the expectation makes it heavier but reveals the best in the players in the process. 

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The second super-strength is their tactical blueprint. Theirs is a really interesting gameplan to break down as an outsider because it hasn’t changed for the best part of a decade yet is still difficult to crack. 

Let’s start with kick-offs: The Blitzboks have patented the long kick. Where most teams will aim to land the kicks on the 10m line to create a competition in the air. South Africa put huge height and distance on the kick, with the aim of pinning opponents into their 22. They back their defence as their first attacking set. 

If we were drawn in the same tournament pool as South Africa, we would spend a session practising how to catch kicks and where to go next. We tried all sorts of tactics: kicks, short carries, wide long passes over the top. All appeared solid ideas, on paper, but were far harder to execute in a game. 

This is due to the intensity and tenacity that the Blitzboks defend with. They aim to smother you to the point that you rush decisions and get isolated after taking contact on their terms. And the contact area is where they really come alive. 

I’ve been lucky enough to play in invitational teams with some of the greats of the green jersey. During lockdown I played with a team in Bermuda that was coached by Frankie Horne and current Blitzboks boss Philip Snyman. I formed a halfback pairing with one of my rugby idols, Cecil Afrika. More recently, I had the pinch-me moment of playing alongside Rosko Specman. 

Obviously, I took full advantage of being able to pick these world-class players’ brains. Very quickly, you pick up on the mindset of contact within South African rugby. Whenever you make a tackle, enter a contact area or carry the ball, it is a challenge between you and the opposition. 

It’s not good enough to just make a tackle or a carry, you need to knock the other player back and let them know you’re only taking forward steps. This is nurtured in the drills and conditioning that they do, which breeds incredibly strong and physical athletes. 

The best litmus test for this is seeing how their halfbacks, who are normally the smallest players, tackle. They often give up 10 to 20 kilogrammes to other players but, time and time again, they are the ones adding another highlight reel tackle to their resumé.   

This combination of smothering defensive pressure and world-class contact skills allows them to generate lots of turnover ball. 

And it’s then that oppositions suddenly find they really have a problem. 

South Africa almost always have good field position when they take control of the ball and they have numerous  ways to beat you on the counter. They can go around you with clinical passing and speed, or through the middle of you with aggressive carrying and offloading. But the most worrying is when their hot-steppers remember to bring their dancing shoes. 

I still remember one try in Vancouver where we tried to box kick our way out of our 22 from a kick off. What happened? Justin Geduld sidestepped the whole team, leaving half of the boys face down on the ground. 

Having playmakers with electric feet and speed allows them to run a consistent attacking shape in the wide channels. The halfback will bounce outside the second-to-last defender, which then forces the final defender to make a decision — either turn in and take the short runner coming like a runaway train at his inside shoulder, or turn out and try to catch a winger in full flight. 

To play like this, the Blitzboks are incredibly well conditioned — and this is their third super strength. 

The intense competition for places has created a high-performance environment that has turned out some of the most famous players in Springbok history. Cheslin Kolbe and Kwagga Smith are just two Blitzboks that have made the jump into the 15-a-side game. 

At the HSBC SVNS in Cape Town you also can’t ignore the impact the crowd has on the team: 75,000 fans cheering their country on definitely helps the Blitzboks raise their game. 

We were lucky enough to play South Africa in a knockout game one year and still to this day it might be the loudest atmosphere that I’ve ever played in front of. 

After a slow start in Dubai, I’m excited to see if they can win consecutive Cape Town titles in front of their home crowd this weekend.