Baseball welcomes Boks
7 Feb 2008
The Springbok Sevens team will get a taste of what American sport is about when they open the USA Sevens on Saturday.
The Boks kick off against the host nation at Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres.
The baseball giants have loaned their ground to US Rugby for the Sevens, giving the tournament a personality of its own – Hong Kong and Wellington may have the sold-out crowds and endless sing-alongs but the US Sevens has rugby on a famous baseball diamond and with the event being heavily promoted here, the Boks can expect a massive, hot-dog-toting, Budweiser-swilling crowd on Saturday.
As willing as the Americans will be, the professional South African team should prove too strong for the amateurs. The SA Sevens team is now fully professional – the players are contracted to play Sevens only and have a permanent base in Stellenbosch, giving them continuity, stability and endless opportunity to train.
The Boks will not be totally without support at Petco Park. This California city is to America what Perth is to Australia in terms of the big expat South African community (one of them is former Natal prop Graham “Basher” Downes).
The Bok squad was swamped by South African well-wishers on Wednesday night at a function to launch the Sevens held at the Sports Hall of Fame which is based in the inspirationally-named (Rocky) Balboa Park. The players were presented with copies of the local expat magazine Juluka, whose cover story is an interview with massive rock band Seether, who are topping charts the length and breadth of the States. While Just Jinger are making waves up the road in Los Angeles, its a drop in the ocean compared to Seether’s success. Incidentally, Seether front man Shaun Morgan Welgemoed played prop in some of Butch James’ teams at Maritzburg College.
After the USA game, the Boks play Mexico and England on Saturday and should top their pool going into Sunday’s finals.
Paul Treu’s team is at full-strength. They have been boosted by the return to fitness of playmaker Mzwandile Stick, whose good health is all the more fortuitous because he replaces the man called up to the Stormers, Juan de Jongh (he is one of only a few non-contracted players and thus could be called up to the Super 14).
After three legs of the IRB series, the Boks are third behind Fiji and runaway leaders New Zealand. Interestingly, Fiji and the All Blacks are drawn in the same pool, along with dangerous Australia, which means one of the top teams will be cancelled out. The USA leg is the halfway mark of the series.
By Mike Greenaway in San Diego
30 Comments
7 Feb 2008, 09:22 am
IMO – Dragons – this Sevens is “T20″ rugby. Good to look at but nothing more.
7 Feb 2008, 09:29 am
Staal
7′s is n baie nice formaat maar helaas lok dit nie skares soos T20 nie! Miskien as ons beter doen sal die ondersteuners ook kom!
7 Feb 2008, 09:33 am
Shaun “call me when you’re sober” Morgan
Legend!
7 Feb 2008, 09:39 am
Staal, T20 is the best format of cricket. What do you mean nothing more than good to look at? That’s what this consumerist lifestyle is all about isn’t it?
Anywayz, I hope you read this Mike Greenaway… It is great to have you reporting on Keo, and great to know your following the now full pro Sevens team.
Why can’t they play 15 man rugby either? In essence, you’re saying Sevens is a seperate sport. I thought Sevens was a different format of the same sport. Very strange, and a little unfair for those boys that MUST have dreams to play for the Springboks. Before Stofile takes over… :-/
7 Feb 2008, 09:59 am
Will the bok 7′s ever win a tournament again?
Thats the question.
7 Feb 2008, 10:02 am
What makes a Sevens game so brilliant to watch….it’s only 7 minutes long!
7 Feb 2008, 10:04 am
5 Stawn
donno but its a lottery, so we’ve still got a chance – IMO.
7 Feb 2008, 10:35 am
That is a great idea. Been to a baseball game in the US and the atmosphere in a full stadium is awesome.
It’s fantastic that each tournament has it’s own personality
7 Feb 2008, 10:46 am
Shaun Morgan Welgemoed?
7 Feb 2008, 11:01 am
professional 7′s players = we now pay them to run around and never win
7 Feb 2008, 11:06 am
We should rather send a BOK A side and bolster our 15 man game. We have wasted a lot of time and money on sevens – we could have spent it better on our 15 man code. Yes we’ve had good teams in the past, but please note that we used players from the 15man team in the 7′s squad.
7 Feb 2008, 11:07 am
Looking at the stunning show the NZ leg of the sevens presented in Wellington, I can’t help but miss the old Winfield 7′s in Stellenbosch. I wish we would consider presenting our tournament in Stellenbosch like it used to be. I’m sure there would be a much better “carnival” atmosphere and way more people would attend. Our George tournament is really quite **** in comparison to other countries offering. My two cents.
7 Feb 2008, 11:10 am
I remember the winfield 7′s … fun true
7 Feb 2008, 11:39 am
MC College boys doing there thing as always !
7 Feb 2008, 11:47 am
You Okes are far to hard on your 7′s team.
They are a good Team. Remember that your best 130 or so players are not available due to S14 duty and it is only very recently that SA has taken this form of the game seriously.
NZ and Fiji have taken this form of the game seriously, and treated it in a professional manner, for 15 or so years.
This form of the game gets promising young Guys into a fully professional environment, takes them on Tour and developes their skills and attitudes.
Many of NZ’s best have emerged through 7′s.
Taine Randle,
Todd Blackadder,
Jonah,
Caleb Ralph,
Christian Cullen,
Glen Osborne,
Jolie Vinderi
Eric Rush,
The Rocketman,
Zinny……….etc.
Keep the faith, success will happen, maybe not overnight, but it will happen.
7 Feb 2008, 12:14 pm
when we were still choosing players from the 15man code we also had emerging players frm 7′s. today we are playing with treu and his flock, how do they get selected……
TREU: O! i know you, like to play 7′s
PLAYER: uncle! fhanx man!
7 Feb 2008, 12:16 pm
Shaun Welgemoed played prop? Geez, he was such a skinny bloke when he was at College. Must have filled out in his final years there (yeah, I’ve seen him recently, he’s a porker).
7 Feb 2008, 12:28 pm
I live in San Diego, everybody remotely involved with rugby, including touch rugby and just being from a rugby playing nation, will be at Petco over the weekend.
San Diego is a great place, a lot of people will take the Coaster down from OC & LA to attend the games.The party starts on Friday night.
Nice tournament, Petco is a cool stadium,brand new and in the heart of downtown.
A safe downtown where you can walk around at any time and enjoy life.
Last year there were about 20,000 people on the last day, didn’t even make a dent in the 50,000 capacity stadium.
A while a go Keo’s posted that 7′s should be scrapped, but it is actually good for the game due to things like this. Gives rugby a higher profile in the US. Not that it is going to change things but not a total loss.
7 Feb 2008, 12:42 pm
bloubulsd, yes it’s like a third *** nice but not needed
7 Feb 2008, 12:53 pm
Remember also, if Rugby ever makes it to the Olympics, it is likely that 7′s will be the preferred format.
7 Feb 2008, 12:58 pm
Team sports at the olympics are a bit dof imo. Should be track & field only.
7 Feb 2008, 13:14 pm
Classic movie quote:
“San Diego – ancient scholars believe it means “A whale’s ******” “. ha ha ha Ron Burgundy
7 Feb 2008, 13:38 pm
To receive a the Springbok colours in Sevens is second to even Vodacom colours IMO.
How can you receive Bok status if their is no provincial or club league and therefor no pool of competitive players to choose from?
Mr Treu envites you and if he thinks you’re great, you become a Bok!
Don’t like this nonsense.
7 Feb 2008, 14:06 pm
isi, or if uncle treu knows your farther or uncle or aunt or sister or…..
7 Feb 2008, 14:27 pm
US sport is on a different level – you quite often get 100,000 folks in a stadium watching college football.
Over here, Seether is big, but Natal boy Dave Matthews is king – the DM Band is by far # 1 in live show revenues…EVER – includes mega bands like U2..
7 Feb 2008, 17:29 pm
DM is king. TRUE
7 Feb 2008, 18:15 pm
Dave Mathews is a Joburg boy who attended St.Stithians.
the yankees really go for High octane end to end higher scoring sports, so sevens could be a better sell and hopefully a good springboard for the 15 man code we all love so dearly.
7 Feb 2008, 18:51 pm
Bloubulsd, we’re flying in from Sacramento on Friday. Going to buy some Castles and have ordered some biltong and droewors from a guy my parents know down in OC. Got buddies coming in from Orange County, Santa Barbara, LA, and Chicago. We’ve been to two of the tournaments in LA and the one in San Diego last year. Great fun!
Mike Greenway, good to see you on Keo. Just a word from up in northern California though… the Padres are not a baseball powerhouse, but I agree that Petco is almost as cool as AT&T Park in San Francisco!
See you okes in San Diego on Saturday!
7 Feb 2008, 18:53 pm
Um… Doesn’t Dave Mathews fall behind the Grateful Dead and Phish in tour revenues?
8 Feb 2008, 11:18 am
You okes moaning about 7′s are just naive little girls!
These okes are phenomenal athletes and very good at what they do.
The 15 man game has had more money thrown at it than it knows what to with it. Madness. The 7′s rugby will pretty soon be self funding (if they continue to get crowds like this). It is also the ideal way to grow the game (15 man code has not made a dent in the last 15 years).
You need to get over yourselves. It is not hurting anyone, in fact it brings awesome entertainment & I am sure the trams (trolleys to be US correct) will be filled with rugby fans from all over the US.
Goooo bokke!
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