NEW BLITZBOKS COACHING STAFF APPOINTED
FORMER players Sandile Ngcobo and Philip Snyman will lead a new era for the Blitzboks after being appointed as the coaches of the Springbok Sevens team yesterday.
Ngcobo will be the head coach, with ex-captain Snyman the assistant as they take over from Neil Powell and Renfred Dazel respectively.
The 33-year-old Ngcobo was the head of the SA Rugby Sevens Academy and assisted Paul Delport with the Bok Women’s Sevens side at the Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup Sevens, having retired from playing in 2018, while 35-year-old Snyman was also coaching at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport before assisting Uganda and Germany.
“The Blitzboks are indeed very close to the heart for all involved, and our jobs will be to protect and grow the values of the badge and the brand. The work starts immediately as we have a warm-up tournament next weekend, so there is no time to sit idly and ponder,” Ngcobo said yesterday.
“I am not planning to make any drastic changes; we know what works. The first challenge will be to look at the squad available, and to start preparations for our first World Series tournament, which will be in Hong Kong early in November.”
Ngcobo has a huge job ahead of him, especially after the Blitzboks were knocked out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage last weekend in Cape Town.
SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said yesterday: “It wasn’t a difficult decision to make. They have huge boots to fill, we all know that, but there are still a lot of intellectual property and experience left in the management structure of the Springbok Sevens set-up, so we do not foresee any lowering of standards or performances from the squad.
“There will be growing pains as some experienced players also move on, but the core values of the squad and management will remain strong.”
Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby’s director of rugby, added: “To have esteemed former players swopping roles to coach the team they served for so long, is testimony of the great culture that was created over the years.
“We have seen what the Blitzboks are capable of – they have been one of the top three sides in the world consistently over the last decade or so. That did not happen by chance, as their success was built over a long period at their base at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport.
“Both coaches were part of the well-respected Blitzboks culture and are driven by that. They will certainly make sure the values of the system will continue to grow with the next generation of players.”