Snyman new Blitzboks head coach as Ngcobo steps aside
BLITZBOKS coach Sandile Ngcobo has fallen on his sword in response to the team’s poor run of form in the World Sevens Series.
Ngcobo’s assistant, Philip Snyman, steps up into the head coach role and will take the team to the Hong Kong Sevens in the first week of April.
The Blitzboks have been desperately poor for some time, and a pale shadow of the side that won world titles under former coach Neil Powell.
The heat has been cranked up on the coaching staff following lowly finishes in the Canada and USA legs of the Series, and Ngcobo has pleaded mea culpa. He returns to the role of coaching the next generation of sevens players at the SA Sevens Academy.
The Blitzboks, who had finished in the top two in 12 of the previous 16 seasons, are seventh on the standings after finishing ninth and 11th in Vancouver and Los Angeles, respectively.
If the team fails to finish in the top eight of the standings, they will be required to play in a promotion and relegation series.
SA Rugby said in a statement yesterday that the coaching team has been “reformatted”, and a review of the sevens department’s structure is being undertaken – and that the changes were made at the suggestion of Ngcobo.
Ngcobo was promoted from Sevens Academy coach to take over from Powell in September 2022, with Snyman, a former Blitzbok captain, appointed as assistant coach.
Now Snyman will be in charge until the Paris Olympics – which South Africa have yet to qualify for.
“We have a talented and experienced group of sevens players, but they have underperformed since winning the opening event of the World Series in Dubai, and results have worsened,” said Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby.
“We have yet to qualify for the Olympics, and there is a danger that the team will not automatically retain its core status on the series.
“We greatly appreciate the honesty of Sandile’s approach, and must praise him for placing the team’s needs above his personal ambitions.
“We will continue to invest in his development, and believe he has a future in our systems.
“However, the short-term needs of the team are such that for continuity purposes, we have given Philip the task of reviving the team’s fortunes.
“A review of the broader sevens department’s structure will continue to ensure that it is fit for purpose.”