That was the reaction from Blitzbok captain Siviwe Soyizwapi after his side opened their HSBC Sydney Sevens campaign with a 31-5 win over Kenya, scoring five tries in the process with Shilton van Wyk grabbing a brace. The score at the break was 21-0.
“We did put some pride back in the jersey with that performance, and we needed to, but we are never happy with any mistakes in our game and there were some today,” the captain said after the Pool B clash at Allianz Stadium.
“We will have a good look at those and see how we can cut the errors out before we face Uruguay tomorrow morning.”
Soyizwapi, who is playing in his 45th HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournament for South Africa, said they conceded too many penalties, something they need to eliminate against the South Americans.
“They are fresh on the series and pretty hungry to make an impact,” he said.
“They have also settled in after four tournaments and are getting used to the pace of the game, so it will not be an easy one. We are certainly not taking them lightly, it will not be an easy game, so we better be ready for that.”
The remaining pool fixtures are played on Saturday, 28 January. The Blitzboks face Uruguay at 00h44 and New Zealand at 06h49. All matches are live on SuperSport.
Shaun Williams on the run.
The South Africans were very clinical on attack, but it was their defensive effort that impressed most, as they kept Kenya at bay with solid tackles and then attacked from turnover possession.
Kenya had possession in the opening minute, but were bundled into touch. The Blitzboks won the lineout and with a deft inside pass by Ryan Oosthuizen, Shaun Williams found space, ran hard and transferred to Shilton van Wyk, who ran in from 50m out to score under the posts. Ricardo Duarttee converted for a 7-0 lead.
Williams started at scrumhalf with Duarttee at flyhalf, and the latter's playmaking ability handed Van Wyk, at centre, a quick brace as a lovely delayed pass opened the Kenyan defence up.
Duarttee converted for a 14-0 lead before Williams scored the third try with a lovely stop and go catching the Kenyan defence flat-footed.
The 21-0 scoreline at the break was a fair reflection of the match at that stage.
The second half saw some changes from coach Sandile Ngcobo and one of those replacements, James Murphy, was first on the scoresheet in the second half, again after strong tackling by the men in green and gold forced Kenya to make mistakes under pressure.
Credit to the Kenyans though, as they kept attacking and and recycling the ball as they moved upfield. They were finally rewarded two minutes from full-time when Kevin Wekesa found some space on the outside.
The Blitzboks were not finished though and Soyizwapi scored his 140th HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series try after a slick backline move to see the game finish with a 31-5 final scoreline.
Scorers:
South Africa 31 (21) - Tries: Shilton van Wyk (2), Shaun Williams, James Murphy, Siviwe Soyizwapi. Conversions: Ricardo Duarttee (3).
Kenya 5 (0) - Try: Kevin Wekesa.
