Marco Botha

Cape Town – Faster, stronger and sharper.

That is how the Springbok sevens team compares with the one that prepared for the International Rugby Board’s Sevens World Series this time last year.

The new season, which stretches through to June, starts in Dubai on 4 December.

It is likely to feature a serious onslaught by the Sevens Boks after they were crowned champions of the opening tournament in the previous series.

While the players are likely to be under more pressure than before, coach Paul Treu said that his squad had never previously been as well prepared as now.

“There are many things that are different this year. We have played in more tournaments, our contracted squad has been together for longer and we are still playing training games against local club teams this week,” said Treu.

However, that does not mean the team is unaware of the psychological challenge posed by being defending champions.

“Of course it’s going to be tough in Dubai. But I think last season was a good learning curve. Last year we occupied the number one spot after the Dubai tournament and stayed there until the end of the series,” said Treu.

“That is how we learned how to deal with pressure. The hunger, the will to win and the desire to stay at the top, are there. My job is to ensure that we maintain that hunger.”