By Avuyile Sawula.
Sako Makata, former Springbok Sevens star, believes the Blitzboks can triumph at the 2024 Paris Olympics despite their challenges in previous tournaments.
In this exclusive chat, Makata highlighted his experiences from competing at the 2020 Tokyo games, as well as revealing his predictions for the tournament.
The Olympics are the biggest sporting event in the world. The pressure was certainly different. There’s just something different in the atmosphere, a lot of pressure, the whole world is watching and it’s insane.”
“South Africa has come close so many times, but we’ll see how the ball bounces on their day, but they go all the way.”
Makata believes Blitzboks can go all the way at Paris Olympics
The 2024 Paris Olympics will kick off this week, and among the many nations in pursuit of gold, will be the Springbok Sevens Men’s team.
After a disappointing run at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic) where they finished in fifth place, the South Africans, will this time around, after going the long route in order to qualify, bank on the experienced players to lead from the front.
Ahead of the showpiece, SportsBoom.com caught up with ex-player, Sako Makata, who represented the Blitzboks at the Tokyo Olympics. In the interview, the 25-year-old discusses his move from 7s to 15s, memories of playing at the Olympics, impact the experienced players in the current group will have, and the team’s chances at this year’s spectacle.
When the Springbok Sevens kick off their campaign at this year’s Olympic Games against Ireland, Sako Makata will be watching on, and cheering his former teammates as they look to begin their campaign on a positive note.
Makata, after joining SA Rugby’s Sevens system early in his junior career represented the senior team in over 16 World Series tournaments. He also played at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, and the Sevens Rugby World Cup hosted in South Africa, Cape Town.
He left the Sevens scene at the end of 2022.
Transitions from 7s to 15s
After Makata officially bid farewell to the Sevens team after the fifth place finish at the 7s World Cup, months later, he was unveiled as one of the new players that would join Kimberly’s Rugby union team, the Griquas.
It was a transition back to 15s rugby, a format he excelled in during his high school days at Stirling High in East London, and at Western Province before committing full-time to the sevens academy.
He admitted that switching back to 15s posed it’s challenges, however, he’s proud of his decision, and still utilizes his 7s skills in the longer format of the game.
“It was a bit of tricky one, there was stuff I needed to learn, like the laws, and tackle techniques,” Makata said.
“I also had to get used to the different systems and analyse teams and opponents a little bit better. In 15s, teams are always changing their game plans whereas in sevens you kind of knew what to expect, so my mindset towards preparation had to change.”
“Joining 7s at a young age exposed me to the high intensity training, and I needed to have a proper mindset every day.”
“That assisted my transition, and I understood nothing was going to be easy. To this day, I use sevens skills like manipulating 1vs1 situations, and using my speed on the wing.”
Playing in the Olympics
For the East London born player, his inclusion in the 12-men Tokyo Olympics squad came on the back of hard work, sacrifice, and belief in himself that he could achieve such a feat.
In that squad, he was one of the younger players along with the likes of Ronald Brown, Zain Davids, and Selvyn Davids- all of whom have been recalled to do duty in this year’s showpiece.
Makata said the Olympics were an experience of a lifetime.
“It was an amazing experience – I think the Olympics are the biggest sporting event in the world and to be part of that and be surrounded by some of the greatest athletes in the world was quite special,” he said.
“it was good, I enjoyed it, I got to travel, see the world, and meet some of my favourite superstars.”
“The pressure was certainly different. There’s just something different in the atmosphere, a lot of pressure, the whole world is watching and it’s insane.”
Backing Blitzboks to go all the way
The Blitzboks, currently led by interim coach, Phillip Snyman, and captained by Selvyn Davids after Siviwe Soyizwapi relinquished the armband will definitely be aiming to finish higher this time around.
The fifth place in Tokyo was by their standards embarrassing, considering the group before had managed to take home the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.
However, this year’s team is a mixture of experience and youth and boasts 6 players that were involved in the last games. They are skipper, Davids, Impi Visser, Zain Davids, Soyizwapi, Ronald Brown, and Rosko Specman, who will be playing at the Olympics for a whopping third time.
Despite a nightmarish HSBC World SVNS campaign, where the Blitzboks finished in seventh spot, lost to Kenya in the African Cup Sevens and had to win the repechage tournament held in Monaco to qualify – Makata believes the team can put their past issues behind them, and go all the way.
“Yes definitely, I believe they can go all the way,” he said confidently.
“However, rugby is unpredictable, you just never know what’s going to happen, but I think if the guys approach it with the right mindset and don’t take anything for granted, they can go all the way.”
“They’ve shown glimpses of their potential, and how well they can play so I think it’s about them sticking to their standards, raising those standards, and giving it their best.”
“South Africa has come close so many times, but we’ll see how the ball bounces on their day, but hopefully they go all the way,” he concluded.
Paris 2024 Schedule
The Blitzboks are drawn in Pool A along with Ireland, New Zealand, and Japan.
They will open their campaign with two tough encounters against Ireland and New Zealand on Wednesday, 24 July at 17:30, and 21:30 respectively. The following day, they’ll take on Japan with that clash kicking off at 16:00 SAST.