Blitzboks look for killer instinct

Skipper Kyle Brown seems to have fallen down the pecking order as Rio Olympics loom

KYLE Brown, long-time Blitzboks skipper, is not assured of his place in the 14-man South African Sevens team for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games to be named in July.

Brown, who has been a permanent fixture in the Blitzboks setup for seven seasons, is in a fight to claim a place for rugby’s historic return to the Olympics after losing the captaincy recently.

In the past two tournaments of the 2015-16 World Sevens Series in Paris and London, Brown was included in the squad, but the captaincy fell to Phillip Snyman.

It was the first time since Brown debuted as captain, in Australia in 2010, that he has not led the team when fit. Clearly his position in the squad is under threat.

Coach Neil Powell was cautious when explaining his decision to make Snyman captain for the last two tournaments of the season.

“Changing the captaincy for Paris and London was an opportunity for us to look at another leader because there is no guarantee for any player that he will make the Olympic squad,” Powell said.

“Phillip had the opportunity to lead the team so that the guys could get used to his leadership style if Kyle doesn’t make the final Olympic squad, either through not being selected, or injury.

“It has added some depth to our leadership and honestly we have not decided on our captain for the Olympics yet.

“It will be between Kyle and Phillip, and it will depend on selection and also possible injuries.”

Throughout the recently completed World Sevens Series, Powell used 23 players as he tested combinations and individuals in the search for the perfect 14 to take to Rio.

Powell included 15 stalwarts such as Bryan Habana, Juan de Jongh, Francois Hougaard and Ryan Kankowski alongside Sevens veterans Cecil Afrika, Brown and Snyman.

The team has been remarkably consistent considering the constant chopping and changing, with eight appearances in semifinals and four in finals. They won one title — in Cape Town — on their way to second overall behind Fiji.

“At the start of the season if someone had said I’d use 23 players and still finish second in the series, I probably would have taken it,” Powell said.

“To finish as high as we did you need consistency throughout the season, which we achieved.”

But they lacked the killer instinct in some big matches, as losing three of those four finals indicated.

In London, South Africa lost to Scotland when leading 26-15 with only a minute to play. The Scots somehow scored two tries in under 60 seconds to claim a historic win.

The Blitzboks played in four finals this season, winning once (25% win ratio) while Fiji won three of five finals (60%) and New Zealand won three of four (75%).

But Powell doesn’t agree that his side lacks the mental toughness to win gold at the Olympics.

“A tournament like the Olympics is a once off,” the coach said.

“It’s totally different to what we come up against in the World Series. We proved that at the Commonwealth Games two years ago, when we won gold after coming second in the World Series.

“You need a different mindset at the Olympics and our recent consistency will count for nothing going in to Rio.

“It’s about the team that arrives in form, which comes from picking the right players. We will be tough in our selection, choosing only form players. There will be no sentiment in selecting players just because they have been part of the system for a long time.

“We only have three days to win a gold medal.”