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Cape Town - Blitzboks captain Philip Snyman was not making any excuses for his side's semi-final loss at the Cape Town Sevens on Sunday.
Favourites to win the tournament on home soil, the Blitzboks were left stunned when they came unstuck to New Zealand in the last four, going down 19-12 in front of a packed Cape Town Stadium.
The Blitzboks went on to beat Canada to secure third place, but it was small consolation given the level of expectation that had accompanied the side all week.
Coach Neil Powell acknowledged afterwards that the pressure of playing in front of their home fans may have gotten to his players, but captain Philip Snyman was not prepared to make any excuses.
"It was a hectic week, but we don't want to make any excuses," he said.
"New Zealand were better than us today and I think they are going to be capable of winning a couple of tournaments this season."
Snyman, like Powell, said the Blitzboks had not delivered to their full potential.
"It's the first time in many tournaments where I didn't feel that the guys played as a team ... it was more about individuals. Overall, I'm not happy with the way we performed," he said.
"We didn't stick to our gameplan and our structures. The result doesn't matter, we only focus on the processes and unfortunately we can't tick that box at the end of this tournament.
"There was nothing wrong with the effort ... but we make it hard for us as a team when we don't stick to the gameplan and the structure."
The next leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series takes place in Sydney on January 26-28.
