From 'dark place' to champions: Blitzboks’ Hong Kong redemption
by Craig Taylor · KickOffBlitzbok captain Impi Visser said his squad will forever remember the moment they finally won the Hong Kong Sevens, and that he is proud to be part of this piece of history.
After a difficult start to the tournament on the first day, where they scraped to victory against Uruguay and lost to Spain, the Blitzboks looked far from being potential tournament winners.
READ | Blitzboks stand tallest in Hong Kong after ending decades of pain to leave coach 'speechless'
Going into Saturday, they needed to beat Argentina, which they emphatically did.
From then on, they won against Kenya, New Zealand, and Argentina again in the final.
Speaking after the match, Visser said South Africa had finally broken their Hong Kong hoodoo.
“I am just so proud of the boys because we achieved something special today,” said Visser.
“We broke the hoodoo in Hong Kong and can finally call ourselves champions here, and that is amazing."
READ | Blitzboks end Hong Kong hoodoo with emphatic win over Argentina
Visser said the defeat against Spain on day one shocked them.
“We came back from a dark place on Friday night as that defeat hurt, as suddenly doubt started to creep in, but we had a good chat and turned it around like I expected the guys to do.
“There is massive fight and pride in this team, and it showed once we were under pressure. We realised the focus should be on creating and assisting with a try rather than thinking of the celebration of it, and we turned it around. That big win over Argentina on Saturday laid the foundation for the rest of the tournament.
“Today was a showcase of what we are capable of. The management moulded us into a competitive team and deserve credit for that,” Visser added.
On the winning streak, Visser said: “We will keep our heads down and stay honest once we get back to work for the next two tournaments. We have seen that hard work pays off, so there is no need to change that habit now.”