Winning Blitzboks show up the big boys

06 December 2016 - 11:41 By CRAIG RAY
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The Blitzboks arrived back in Cape Town as Dubai champions, thanks mainly to their impressive defence and breakdown work, which has only served to underline how far behind the Springboks are in the same disciplines.

Blitzbok coach Neil Powell. File photo
Blitzbok coach Neil Powell. File photo
Image: Ziyaad Douglas / Gallo Images

Last week the Blitzboks beat 12-time World Series champions New Zealand 40-0 in the quarterfinals thanks to brilliant contact work.

They did the same to Wales in the semifinal and Fiji in the final, which they won 26-14.

Sevens rugby has evolved to the point where contact skills, the need to defend intelligently and to win the contest for the ball on the deck are as important as they are in the longer version of the game.

Blitzbok coach Neil Powell recognised this and employed methods that former Bok breakdown coach Richie Gray instilled in the squad when he spent time with them earlier this year.

Gray was deemed superfluous to the Boks' needs this year, although he continued to consult to the Blitzboks until the Olympic Games in August.

Gray has since moved on to fulfil the role for Scotland, who enjoyed a superb November by beating Argentina and Georgia and losing to the Wallabies by a point at Murrayfield.

Powell still employs Gray's methods and the results were spectacular in Dubai as South Africa won the first of the 10 HSBC World Sevens Series events on the 2016/17 campaign.

Most of the tries resulted from counter attacks from turnovers and good defence.

- TMG Digital

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