‘Notch’ may get first start
It is a case of rather late than never for Stormers loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe‚ who will start his first World Sevens Series for the Blitzboks in Hamilton, New Zealand, this weekend.
“Notch”‚ as he is known‚ played two matches off the bench last week in Sydney‚ where the Blitzboks ended runners-up to Australia but moved back to the top of the standings on 58 points.
But this will be his last chance to impress SA Sevens coach Neil Powell‚ as he heads back to the Stormers next week to take part in Super Rugby for the Cape Town franchise.
Notshe was brought into the sevens set-up to provide the reigning World Series with forward options in a season that includes the Commonwealth Games in April and the World Cup in July.
He is not due to be released from the Stormers for those two events‚ but nothing has been left to chance in terms of planning by Powell and his staff.
If there is an injury crisis in a few months‚ they know they can ask for Notshe’s release from the Stormers safe in the knowledge that he has a strong sevens grounding after spending the last three months training with the team.
Notshe joined the sevens programme last October and was selected for the SA Rugby Sevens Academy side that played in Dubai in December.
The former Wynberg Boys High pupil made his Blitzbok debut last weekend when he replaced the injured Ruhan Nel and is now keen to make the most of his remaining time with the squad here in Hamilton. “There are a couple of areas where I feel that I improved in the last couple of months. My skills benefited‚ as did my work rate‚” Notshe said.
“My one-on-one skills on defence and beating players on attack certainly benefited as well‚ as did my work at the breakdown. The guys spend a lot of time working on that area‚ on attack and defence.
“Playing 15s will always be the bigger picture for me‚ but my involvement with the Blitzboks in the last couple of months certainly whet my appetite.
“There is a Commonwealth Games and a Rugby World Cup Sevens this year‚ but the biggest thing that will draw me back is the people that I worked with.
“There is a good culture going around here,” Notshe said.
Zain Davids‚ who was called up this week‚ made his Springbok Sevens debut in 2017’s New Zealand tournament and he hopes this appearance will have the same result — the Blitzboks were champions in 2017.
“It is another opportunity and one I want to use to the best of my ability‚” the 20-yearold said.
Davids‚ who was a member of the SA Rugby Sevens Academy squad that won the Sudamericarugby7s tournaments in Uruguay and Chile in January‚ feels the attention to detail looked at in that system improves him as a player.