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Cape Town - After 66 tournaments around the world, Kyle Brown knows a thing or two about winning tournaments on the World Rugby Sevens Series – be it in the USA, Europe or Australia, but most of all, he’s also had that winning feeling in South Africa.
And not only in Cape Town, where the second leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series kicks off on Saturday, but also in Port Elizabeth and George, where the Blitzboks won exactly ten years ago.
Brown was part of that team and will be keen to add another Cape Town title to his career stats, something that could become a reality if you ask the fans, Brown explained.
“Since the days in George, we have had fantastic support playing at home,” said Brown.
“That spilled over to Port Elizabeth and now in Cape Town, it is just amazing. The amount of support we get is just wonderful and humbling. People have been so faithful in supporting the South African leg of the World Series and that is great.
“Everyone love this tournament and the other teams often tell us how they enjoy playing here. The crowds are great and this is one of the best settings you will find.”
Brown recalled the moment two years ago when he snapped his ACL playing against New Zealand, and said that he was totally overwhelmed by the support from the crowd.
“We ran onto the field, the flames were going and it felt like everyone in the crowd were waving a South African flag – more than 50,000 of them,” said Brown.
“That moment – feeling that everyone is behind you – was one of my very best feelings in the ten years I played on the World Series. Our spectators are so great.”
Brown had some advice for Impi Visser, Ryan Oosthuizen, Zain Davids, Dewald Human and Muller du Plessis, all of whom will be playing in Cape Town for the first time.
“You can’t allow that massive expectation drag you down and drain you, rather use the amazing support you will as extra motivation,” said Brown.
The Blitzboks are drawn in Pool A along with New Zealand, Samoa and Zimbabwe.
Their opening match is against Samoa at 12:27 on Saturday.
The Pools for the Cape Town Sevens are:
A: New Zealand, South Africa, Samoa, Zimbabwe
B: USA, Argentina, Spain, Japan
C: England, Fiji, France, Kenya
D: Australia, Scotland, Canada, Wales
