Long wait big challenge for Blitzboks
Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell feels the Blitzboks will have to overcome a psychological rather than a physical challenge on Friday evening (early Saturday SA time), when they start their Rugby World Cup Sevens campaign at AT&T Park in San Francisco, in the US.
SA have never won this world showpiece, but Powell feels his players have the capabilities to go all the way.
“I am not too worried about the physical side of things,” he said.
“We had a number of great training sessions, held two productive training camps and since our arrival here we have played a warm-up match against Argentina.
“Everything went well, so I am pretty pleased with that.”
Powell said the ability to stay focused on the task ahead could be their biggest challenge.
“We need to get out of the blocks well against the winner of the match between Chile and Ireland.
“The problem is that the winner of that encounter will be playing their second match of the day, and they will have some momentum and confidence when they play us.
“We start from scratch and that could count against us.”
He is also aware the match will only be played at 9.15pm on Friday (6.15am on Saturday, SA time).
“It will be a very long day for us,” the Blitzbok coach said.
“Our opponents will play much earlier and have a good break before they face us.”
The Springbok Sevens team won back-to-back HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series titles and are the first seeds in the US, but they do not want the tag as tournament favourites.
“We have seen this year that no team can be underestimated, so we will need to be ready come Friday evening,” Powell said, adding that they had adapted their schedule slightly to ensure they are at their best when their first match starts.
“We changed some of our sessions around and also played against Argentina in a chukka, which helped a lot.
“The guys have shown a good appetite this week and I am happy that we will be delivering a strong performance.”
Blitzbok captain Philip Snyman has experienced the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai (2009) and Moscow (2013), while the rest of the squad will make their debuts.
Snyman will become the first Blitzbok to play in three RWC Sevens tournaments.