The Springbok Sevens team - and first time captain Mzwandile Stick - put in the most outrageous performance in Dubai to win the first tournament of the IRB Sevens Series.

I don’t have the stomach or the heart for Sevens rugby.  It’s far too intense and nail-biting as things can hinge and turn on the smallest mistake or the tiniest margins.

Watching the semi-final and the final of the Dubai tournament - only 34 minutes mind you - had more highs and lows than almost any other fifteen man match.

If you didn’t get to see the Dubai tournament let me quickly help you up to speed ahead of this weekend’s tournament in George.

The Bok Sevens team looked outmuscled by both Fiji in the semi-finals and England in the final.  The Boks are a slight team and that means there’s always a little doubt at ruck time as to whether they can hold their own. 

It’s a calculated gamble, however, as when the ball gets out to the backs there are some thrilling runners and real speeders in the team.  The Boks also proved in Dubai that they’ve got hearts bigger than any muscles the opponents might be brandishing.

I’m getting ahead of myself a little.   The semi-final win over Fiji is one of the more remarkable things i’ve ever seen happen with the oval ball.  Fiji were 7 points ahead and the Boks were battling to make an opportunity.  Gio Aplon - if ever there’s a talisman for this Bok team it must be the dimunitive WP fullback - finally started threatining the Fijian advantage line.  Finally it was Vuyo Zanqa that went over to score on the stroke of fulltime.  He couldn’t get round under the uprights and left his captain a very tricky conversion to level the scores.

When I say it was a tricky conversion out 15 from the right hand touchline I’m slipping in a massive euphenism.  Stick needed to slot the conversion to put South Africa into sudden death extra time.

Drop kicking is one of the hardest arts to master on the rugby field.  The dropped ball makes it a far more unreliable art than place kicking.   In fact, I’d bet that if you put Wilkinson, Carter, Montgomery, de Beer, Botha, Steyn and Hernandez in Stick’s boots you would have battled to get a 50% strike rate.

Stick knocked it over, but what followed was even more sensational.  Fiji kicked off and Aplon sent a massive punt out near the halfway line.  South Africa pinched the lineout and passed the ball to Stick who smashed over a drop goal on the run from out near half way.  The 50 000 crowd at the the Sevens stadium were stunned.  The commentators were almost speechless.  I still can’t really believe what I saw.

In the final the Boks weathered a spirited England fighback before Aplon raced away in the last minute to score the winning try.

I’ve long been a fan of Sevens, but this was taking it to a new level. 

The George tournament is going to be a cracker - I just wonder if I can handle the all the thrills and spills.