Paris important to get good seeding for Rio, says Blitzbok coach Powell

FRIDAY MAY 13 2016 WHILE the Sevens World Series title has not been at the top of Blitzboks coach Neil Powell’s list of priorities this year, his team haven’t given up hope of clinching South Africa’s second tournament win in Paris this weekend.

Everything the Blitzboks have done this season has been geared towards the Rio Olympics in August. There has been a lot of rotation to the squad to see how the 15s stars can fit into the puzzle before the 12-man squad is announced for the Games in July.

But yet, even after all the experimenting, the South Africans find themselves second on the World Series standings and eight points behind leaders Fiji with only the Paris and London events to go.

“At this stage of the season teams know each other quite well and everybody knows it is going to be us who will have to beat Fiji for the overall title. We certainly believe that, if we stick to our principles and processes, we can still catch them and win the series,” said new captain Philip Snyman, who will be playing in his 36th tournament for SA

Powell says the door for the Rio squad is still wide open, which will give the squad selected for Paris extra motivation to perform this weekend. But most of all he is just looking for an improved performance from his side, who have been blowing hot and cold this season.

“It will give the players the opportunity to put up their hands for the final Olympic Games squad, no doubt,” said Powell.

“But it also gives us an opportunity to improve on what we have done over the last couple of tournaments. Hopefully we can keep our momentum and confidence going into the Olympics.”

The other incentive for the Blitzboks over the next few weeks is to try to secure a good seeding for the Rio Games, as they’ll want to avoid the big teams at the start of the tournament.

“Paris is important with regard to the seeding for Rio, and we are aiming to finish in the top two on the overall standings. There will only be three pools in Rio and pool three could become very congested with top teams,” Powell said.