Six tournament victories out of eight played is no mean feat, but for Ryan Oosthuizen, another go at glory at the Emirates Dubai 7s tournament this weekend could not come quick enough.
The 2026 HSBC SVNS kicks off this weekend, with The Sevens hosting the opening leg, followed by the HSBC SVNS Cape Town on 6 and 7 December at DHL Stadium (tickets available from Ticketmaster).
Upon departure from Cape Town for the season opener, Oosthuizen opted to reflect on the positive experiences in Dubai, rather than last year, when he was concussed early in the pool stages and ruled out of contention for the remainder of the tournament, ruining his almost perfect experience in the UAE desert.
The experienced Blitzbok forward then missed the second leg of the series, in Cape Town a week later, and enjoyed the first home win for the Blitzboks since 2015 in the stands as a spectator at DHL Stadium.
“Yes, that was great to see, although I would have loved to be on the field, but that is the way it sometimes goes,” said Oosthuizen, who will be playing in his 57th world series tournament.
Oosthuizen is also closing in on 50 world series tries – he is currently on 46 – but for the six-time champion, Dubai is not about personal accolades or achievements.
“The format has changed for this season and it is going to be a dog fight,” he said.
“With only the best eight teams playing, every match will have the intensity of a final and one can expect every match, from the first one in the pool, to be very competitive. We will have to be spot on in our execution from the first minute.
Eleven of the 13 players selected for the opening tournament formed part of the final tournament of the previous season in Los Angeles and Oosthuizen feels the experience in the squad will help in those tense matches looming.
“Some of us have been playing for this team since 2016 and we have several guys with multiple caps, so we know each other well,” he said. “That will help us out of tight spots I believe. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and can adapt accordingly.”
They leave prepared and will be ready, Oosthuizen promised: “We did put in a lot of work over the last couple of weeks in the various stages of our pre-season and we will be ready. Everyone is excited about playing in the green and gold again and we will be up for it.”
Ryan Oosthuizen fact file:
Debut: Hong Kong 2016
HSBC SVNS tournaments: 56
Points: 230 (46 tries)
Dubai 7s tournament wins: 6
Career HSBC SVNS tournament wins: 11
●The tournament, starting on Saturday 29 November, will be broadcast live on SuperSport, with the opening match at 8:58am (SA time).