SEVENS SQUAD ENDS INTERMITTENT YEAR WITH OLYMPIC TICKET
The Blitzbokke’s season ends with a bronze medal at the Paris leg of the 2018-19 World Sevens as Fiji claimed the title they last won three years ago
The Blitzbokke’s season ended with a bronze medal at the Paris leg of the 2018-19 World Sevens as Fiji claimed the title they last won three years ago.
The effort in Paris was reflective of the Blitzbokke’s season‚ as they finished the campaign in fourth overall after winning back-to-back titles over the previous two seasons.
It was always going to be a difficult year for coach Neil Powell because he had to rebuild a team that lost several stalwarts.
Leading try-scorer Seabelo Senatla‚ as well as Rosko Specman‚ Dylan Sage‚ Ruhan Nel‚ Tim Agaba and Kwagga Smith all decided to play fifteens fulltime.
Injuries to other experienced players such as Cecil Afrika and Kyle Brown‚ as well as a swathe of injuries throughout the season‚ tested the Blitzbokke’s depth.
In Paris the Blitzbokke topped their Pool comfortably‚ then thrashed Samoa 40-7 in the quarterfinals.
But in the semifinal they were humbled 33-7 by New Zealand before bouncing back to beat the US 24-7 in the bronze medal match.
That type of inconsistency defined the season.
“I was very happy about the way we played against Samoa‚ the guys really pitched up for that one‚” said Powell.
“Against New Zealand‚ we unfortunately did not do that well and that was disappointing. Luckily we came good again against USA to end the tournament and year off on a positive note.
“Somehow inconsistency crept into our play and that was a critical element of our season. We will look at that in our review and how we can improve next season.
“We were targeted at the breakdowns‚ especially by the likes of New Zealand‚ and that is an area where we need to get better.”
Powell said it was a tough season for him as a coach: “We had senior guys leaving and new players coming in‚ which challenged our culture. We started off poorly‚ but certainly grew in the latter part of the season‚ with the two tournament wins a highlight of the season.”
Fiji’s 33-14 semifinal win over the USA in Paris secured them their fourth title since the series began in 1999. They went on to win the Paris event by beating New Zealand 35-24 in the final for their fifth tournament win of the campaign. They were deserved winners.
Only two points separated Fiji and the USA going into Paris. The semifinal was effectively a World Series decider and the islanders ruthlessly finished the USA off.
But with the Olympics a year away‚ the USA have emerged as a real gold medal contender in Tokyo in 2020. Fiji‚ the USA‚ New Zealand and South Africa secured the four automatic qualifying berths for Tokyo as the top four on the World Series standings.
Fiji finished the season with 186 points the USA 177‚ NZ 162 and South Africa 148.