Blazeboks fall short of SVNS Series return but Afrika sees a squad on the rise

South Africa’s Blazeboks finished at the foot of the table at the Women’s Sevens World Championship in Bordeaux, falling short of the HSBC SVNS Series qualification they had targeted — but head coach Cecil Afrika insists the programme has taken a significant step forward in 2026.

The side’s campaign was undermined by five injuries carried over from the SVNS 2 tournament, leaving Afrika with limited preparation time heading into the World Championship. Defeats to Argentina and Brazil on the final day sealed their fate at the bottom of the standings.

“I am very proud of this group and how they grew into a squad that could compete and realise that they are not far off from where we need to be,” Afrika said. “We never really had a chance in Hong Kong due to the short time together after the injuries. But you could see the growth and progress for the last two tournaments, where we had a month to prepare.”

Despite the Bordeaux disappointment, the broader picture for the Blazeboks in 2026 was one of genuine progress. The side began the year winning the SVNS 3 competition in Dubai, earning promotion alongside Argentina to the SVNS 2 tournament. They went on to finish third in that competition, making them one of only two women’s teams — Argentina being the other — to compete across all three levels of the sevens pyramid this year.

Africa acknowledged the World Championship proved a step too far given the squad’s depth and experience at this stage, but stressed the lessons learned would shape their preparation for next year’s qualification campaign.

“It can be done, but we just did not have enough depth and experience in the lead-up,” he said. “We have time to plan and discuss the road ahead.”

Captain Zintle Mpupha echoed that measured optimism, pointing to the team’s performances in Spain as evidence of what the group is capable of when given adequate preparation time.

“This sevens system requires hard work, from having to qualify for SVNS 3 and then SVNS 2 to where we were really competitive, especially in Spain,” Mpupha said. “I am very proud of those efforts. It was rather inexperience than lack of effort that cost us in the end.”

With the Blitzboks men’s side having just claimed back-to-back World Championship titles in Bordeaux, the women’s programme will look to build on their own breakthrough year as they set their sights on SVNS Series qualification in 2027.