Defence a focal point for Blitzbokke

The Springbok Sevens side had to settle for a fifth place finish – after their hopes of defending their Dubai title were dashed in their 21-19 loss to the USA in the Cup quarterfinals last weekend. Powell believes that was the focal point of the tournament.

“One or two incidents in the American game changed the result of that particular match and the tournament. When we evaluate ourselves after a tournament, we never look at the result, we look at the effort the guys put in and we can’t fault the effort they put in especially after the disappointment of losing to America in that quarterfinal,” Powell said.

“The way the guys bounced back and beat Argentina and came back against Australia was pleasing,” Powell added.

Powell’s praise came with a clear message that their defence would need to be much tighter if they were to win the inaugural tournament in Cape Town.

“There are one or two tweaks in defence that I think we can still fix, and although we weren’t happy with our defence we were the team that conceded the least tries in the tournament. Overall we’re happy; it’s just unfortunate that the result didn’t go our way,” the coach said.

The Blitzbokke will have to adapt to a reshuffle in their squad after Cecil Afrika and Werner Kok were ruled out through injury. Afrika won’t be out for too long as he nurses a hamstring strain, but Kok is expected to be out for six months – needing surgery on his knee after the opening tournament of the World Sevens Series.

Nevertheless, coach Powell has placed faith in the two replacements. Rosco Speckman comes back into the squad – having been a regular in seasons past while all eyes will be on debutant Dylan Sage.

“I think Rosco was unfortunate not be in the team for Dubai, he played well in the trial games we had with Maties, UCT and all the universities teams and performed fantastically for the Samurai team in Dubai over the weekend so it’s a well-deserved opportunity for him,” Powell said.

“Dylan Sage is a new uncapped player with a lot of promise. He showed a lot in those warmups and again for the Samurai team in Dubai. We’re really looking forward to seeing what he can bring and what he is capable of playing against some of the best teams and individuals in the world,” he concluded.

The Blitzbokke face Kenya, Zimbabwe and England in the Pool B action on Saturday.

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