Blitzboks playmaker Selwyn Davids calls for consistency in Vancouver

South Africa arrive in Canada looking to build on the momentum from their title-winning performance in Perth last month, their second tournament victory of the season after also claiming gold in Cape Town earlier in the campaign.

Davids says the squad has spent time addressing areas where they lacked consistency in previous tournaments and believes maintaining high standards across all matches will be crucial this weekend.

"Ja, definitely, we need the consistency. It's been up and down since Dubai. For us, it's about fulfilling our roles and responsibilities, but the most important thing is going to be consistency, not just in this tournament, but the next one as well," said Davids

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"We don't want to look at the scoreboard but it's important to win games. But like I said, the roles and responsibilities are the number one thing."

South Africa head into the Vancouver tournament sitting second in the overall standings with 66 points, just four behind series leaders Fiji on 70.

Since making his Blitzboks debut in 2017, Davids has built an impressive résumé that includes multiple World Rugby Sevens Series titles, a bronze medal at the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens and gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Now approaching the latter stages of his career, Davids says the sevens circuit remains highly demanding and competitive. 

While regular game time is vital, he believes the coaching staff have managed the squad well by balancing experienced campaigners with emerging talent in the green and gold jersey.

Davids missed the recent tournaments in Singapore and Perth after sustaining an injury during the Cape Town event. 

Davids had to watch from the sidelines as the team struggled in Singapore before responding strongly with a tournament win in Perth.

He says the return of the team’s experienced playmakers this weekend should help the Blitzboks control the tempo of matches.

Davids, along with Ronald Brown and Impi Visser, returns from injury as South Africa look to strengthen their competitiveness in Vancouver. 

Their experience is expected to provide valuable balance in a squad that also includes younger players such as uncapped forward Grant de Jager and Gino Cupido, who is only competing in his second tournament on the series.

The 31-year-old says he is eager to contribute again while he also admits it was difficult watching the team from home and is pleased to be back involved with the squad.

Standings:

1 Fiji – 70 pts

2 South Africa – 66

3 New Zealand – 62

4 France – 54

5 Australia – 54