The overnight flight from Dubai to Cape Town was more than enough time for the Blitzboks to reflect on their fifth place finish at the Emirates Dubai 7s tournament and upon arrival in the Mother City this morning, Springbok Sevens sweeper Ricardo Duarttee was ready for another bite at the cherry.
That cherry will be the HSBC SVNS Cape Town, the second tournament of the 2026 HSBC SVNS, to be played at DHL Stadium on Saturday and Sunday.
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“We regrouped on Sunday already after the disappointment of Saturday, as one could see on our day two results,” said Duarttee after they arrived at Cape Town International Airport.
“It hurts that we dropped results to Fiji and Argentina in our pool, but we came back on Sunday to get some belief back.
“This weekend, we have another chance to redeem ourselves and I cannot wait for that.”
The Blitzboks won last year’s tournament for only the second time sinced it was moved to Cape Town in 2015, when they won the inagural tournament hosted at DHL Stadium.
“We certainly do not want to wait that long again, in fact, the squad will be very determined to right the wrongs from Dubai,” the 20-tournament Blitzbok said.
“Cape Town is just such a special place to play at. There is a massive feeling of excitement for the weekend.”
Duarttee’s input in last year’s tournament was massive, but he and his teammates do not play for statistics: “We play for the love of the game, for the passion we have for it and this weekend, we get to play in front of family, friends and loyal supporters.
“We need to put some pride back in the Springbok Sevens jersey and where better that right here. There is no place like DHL Stadium on the weekend of the Cape Town Sevens,” Duarttee declared.
The Blitzboks have been drawn in a tough pool, opening against Dubai winners, New Zealand, before facing Fiji, who outplayed them 28-10 last Saturday. Their final pool clash is against Great Britain.
“What an opportunity this will be for us to rectify the mistakes and show what we are capable of, especially in front of a proper crowd to cheer us on. I cannot wait for Saturday, it is going to be a huge day,” said Duarttee.
“We need our supporters to come and celebrate our only opportunity to play at home with us. See you there.”