Springbok Women's Sevens star Kemisetso Baloyi will celebrate her 27th birthday on Saturday. She will be hoping it's a double celebration at the HSBC Challenger 2025 at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town.
Image: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA)
Springbok Women's Sevens forward Kemisetso Baloyi is hoping for the perfect birthday present of a tournament win on Saturday at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town.
Baloyi will celebrate her 27th birthday on the final day of the second World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 tournament.
“What a wonderful way to celebrate one's birthday,” the former University of Pretoria student said earlier this week.
“I will be playing for my country alongside these wonderful teammates and if all goes according to plan, I can celebrate us winning the tournament as well. And if that is in front of a good crowd to spur us on, so much the better.”
According to Baloyi, the team stepped up their focus and preparations for week two, after finishing third last weekend. They lost to eventual winners Kenya in the Cup semi-finals.
“Our goal remains to finish top,” she said. “We are much better prepared as we could look at our mistakes from last week and what needed to b'e sorted out or improved.
“The reviews were honest and open, and everyone is determined to deliver performances that can win us the tournament and put us in a good position leading up to the final tournament in Krakow in a couple of weeks.
“A win is definitely something I want. It’s going to be a nice birthday gift, so I think when we win it’s not only going to reflect on what we’ve done, it’s also going to show that we don’t dwell on the mistakes that we’ve made in the previous tournament. We’re just going to park it, and bring it home.”
The top four ranked men’s and women’s teams in the Challenger Series will qualify for the HSBC SVNS Play-off tournament in Los Angeles on May 3 and 4.
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