The Blitzboks will look to put a disappointing Singapore tournament behind them as they gear up for this weekend’s Perth Sevens.

South Africa will face Spain, Argentina and Fiji in Pool A at HBF Park.

The Blitzboks arrived in Perth on Monday evening following a fourth-place finish in Singapore and for Ryan Oosthuizen, it was a tournament he didn’t enjoy much, given his high standards and competitiveness.

“When we flow, we are very tough to beat, we know that, but playing against ourselves like we did last weekend, created the opposite for us,” said the 30-year-old forward after a productive team meeting in Perth.

“We have seen in Cape Town how tough it is for other teams to beat us when we get it right, so delivering a 40 or 50% effort compared to that was disappointing.”

The Blitzboks beat Spain and Great Britain before losing their final pool match against Fiji in extra-time.

They then lost to France in the semis and New Zealand in the third-place playoff.

Match-winning tackle or try?
The #Blitzboks make their call.#PoweredByUnity #HSBCSVNS pic.twitter.com/vbvvYYvA8S

— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) February 3, 2026

Since arriving in Perth, most of the focus has been on reviews and recovery and for Oosthuizen it was good to clear the heads and address the gremlins that crept into the team’s game in Singapore.

“We are hard on ourselves, we work hard to get to a certain standard and when we do not reach those during a tournament, we don’t take kindly to that,” said Oosthuizen, who will play in his 60th World Series tournament and return to Perth for a third consecutive visit.

“There are honest conversations, with egos being put to the side and team demands and responsibilities ruling the conversations. It is good that the focus was on off-field stuff, recovering and getting the weekend out of the system. The coaches have the right game plan; we just did not execute.

“The nice thing about the meetings was that everyone accepted their mistakes, there were no excuses on individual errors, and it turned into a very productive meeting.

“Everyone realised we played against ourselves and were unhappy about that. We have moved past the finger pointing and all took responsibility. This is a good sign for the group.”

More action coming next weekend in Perth 🔥#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSPER pic.twitter.com/xeuvIeYsC3

— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) February 1, 2026

Oosthuizen, who played once in the Sydney leg of the series, is hoping Perth will deliver a first win on Aussie soil.

“We missed some experienced players in Singapore, but the younger guys will be better this weekend. That is how you gain experience, to learn from your mistakes, something we all know now.

“That said, we are very eager to get to the training field tomorrow, get rid of the gremlins and arrive Saturday as the team we know we are.”

Blitzboks’ Pool A fixtures (SA times)
Saturday 7 February 
5:58am: vs Spain
9:14am: vs Argentina
12:52pm: vs Fiji

Photo: David van der Sandt/Gallo Images