Blitzbok Flyer Soyizwapi Wants the Blitzboks on Top of the World Again

The Blitzboks are currently in camp in Stellenbosch preparing for the upcoming SVNS series starting at the end of November in Dubai. Blitzboks stalwart Siviwe "Shakes" Soyizwapi will be raring to go.

"The prep has been going well, we really had a good offseason and put in a lot of work coming off a break from the Olympics. We had a couple practice games two weekends ago and that was really good for us to get the contact element and conditioning in preparation for the new season. More importantly, the energy and vibe in the camp is great which helps with preparation for the upcoming season," he told SportsBoom.com. 

Move to the Forwards

Coach Phillip Snyman recently revealed that Soyizwapi will be moving from the wing to the forwards. Soyizwapi gave insight to the move and reasoning behind it.

"To be honest, the older you get you are not as fast as you normally were. As a wing. In particular my position and the outside backs, there are a lot of younger guys coming through. Quewin [Nortje] is one name who has done really well as the wing who has been playing most of the games last season."

"There are a couple of guys as well that are coming through who are young and fast. I still feel I do have a lot to offer in the game, if I can play a bit of rugby up front and contribute to the team. I believe my attributes can work well in that area with our gameplan."

Captaincy Conundrum

Snyman is currently without current captain Selvyn Davids with injury. He has hinted in possibly having a co-captaincy role in the upcoming season. Soyizwapi mentioned a few candidates to take on that role.

"Within our system we always had a leadership group. Currently we have myself, Impi Visser, Zain Davids and Ryan [Oosthuizen] have been part of the system for a very long time, including Dewald Human who has been with us for more than 1o seasons. It's good to have the quality of that leadership group, it gives the coach options to pick from."

"To be honest I don't know who he will pick to co-captain."

Senior players exodus

The Blitzboks have lost a few senior players from the previous season. The likes of Rosko Speckman and Justin Geduld, they will be looking at the talent pool within the system to slot in and the senior heads to anchor the ship.

"It's part and parcel of the industry, players come and go. The depth we have managed to generate over the past two seasons has been good and the learnings that came with it. Just looking at the different positions within the system, we are pretty much covered with all the players coming in."

"It goes without saying, it is exceptional players that have left and remarkable guys who brought a lot to the team. We do have players who can slot in those areas but again those players need some gametime under their belts to get the experience of a player like Rosko Speckman and they are not far off."

Tricky Returns

Ricky Duarttee was recently announced by coach Snyman in the Blitzboks Dubai training squad. This comes off the fallout he had with the previous coach Sandile Ngcobo which eventually saw him being dropped from the squad.

"It's good to have him [Duarttee] back in the system, a hard working player. He is obviously a talented player, we saw his rookie season with us and how he burst onto the scene. He has joined the squad now with the preseason and hitting good numbers with the testing. He is hitting the targets or let me say the requirements the coaches and management is looking for."

"It's really exciting to have him back. Now we have more options in that sweeper role. With him there just improves and strengthens the competition within the squad."

50 for Kwagga

Former Blitzboks and current Springbok Kwagga Smith celebrated his 50th game for the Springboks against Scotland. Smith and Soyizwapi played together in the 7s circuit. Transitioning from 7s to 15s internationally is not easy and only a handful have done so, reaching 50 caps is a feat to be admired.

"What an unbelievable human being. Before rugby, Kwagga is an exceptional human. He took his 7s skills and transferred it over to the 15s game and you always knew a guy like him would be successful. I am really happy for him, I was actually keen to sit and watch the Scotland game and see him rack up 50 games for the Springboks. It's massive to play for the Springboks, you dream of playing for the Springboks and to get to 50 is exceptional and congrats to him."
 

"The 7s game is such a good platform to get the individual fundamental skills. Not only the ball skills but also the mental skills. The game is mentally challenging and can test you as a player. Also physically, if you have the physique of a 7s player you can move to the 15s game and pack on a bit of weight. I think Kwagga made the move easy for him, just his personality, a freak of nature and hardworking."
 

Soyizwapi was asked whether players can successfully transfer from 7s to 15s professionally.

He simply stated, "more than possible."

Goals for the Blitzboks

The Blitzboks finished strong from the previous season where they claimed Bronze at the Olympics. They had some setbacks with performances, injuries and reshuffle in management which the squad has learnt from.

"I think one of the main goals is to get the whole squad to have some gametime and experience. There is a larger picture and further plan, holistically for the system to grow. Ultimately we want to get back to being the best in the world and we have done well to medal at the Olympics and we will be looking to transfer that to the season as well."