Philip Snyman on winning an Olympic bronze medal as a player and coach

In 2016, he captained the Blitzboks to a bronze medal victory in Brazil, and eight years later, he led the team to another bronze as their coach.

Blitzboks secured their medal by defeating Australia 26-19 in thrilling, wet conditions at the Stade de France on Saturday night.

Despite his significant achievement, Snyman remained humble, emphasizing that the credit belonged to the players rather than himself as their coach.

"It is special, I think 2016 Rio winning Bronze there and tonight as a coach winning bronze but I didn't win bronze tonight, the players won the bronze and they deserve all the credit, they played really well," Snyman said.

"The difference is I think in 2016 we went into that tournament as one of the favourites and we fell short against Great Britain in the semifinals and then we had, I wouldn't say easy game but we almost put 50 points up in the third/fourth playoff.

"So, I think the emotions there were kind of like we expected a little bit more in that tournament and in this tournament now as a coach, we didn't have a chance coming in, the last to qualify. 

"Nobody gave us a chance even to make the quarterfinals, we snuck through, last minute, last team to qualify for the Olympics. Last team to qualify for the quarterfinals and then we came out, we had our moments against France, we put early pressure on them."

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Snyman described the bronze in Paris as particularly special, recalling how it reminded him of watching the Tokyo Olympics on television.

Now, he found himself on the other side of the screen, being watched as he won an Olympic medal.

The Blitzboks’ campaign in the Olympic Games has concluded, but Team South Africa is still striving for more medals.

They set a strong example, and coach Snyman and his team will continue to support and inspire them, hoping they will persevere and fight just as valiantly.

"Yes, I hope we inspire the rest of Team South Africa, I think it's just good to have belief and that is something that we've been talking about quite a bit in the team, belief. The way we talk to each other, that self-belief and the way you stay in the moment, every single game whether the chips are down or not."