Blitzboks urged to banish thoughts of LA

The Blitzboks poor form going into this weekends' Rugby World Cup Sevens is not something his players will dwell on, coach Neil Powell stressed.

The Blitzboks, who squandered the opportunity to claim another World Sevens Series title when they were eliminated in the pool stages of last month's Los Angeles event, are hoping to atone with victory in Cape Town this weekend.

First, however, the coach wants his players to forget what happened in California last month.

“I told the players not to look back,” said Powell.

“We as a coaching group will look back and reflect on what happened. Players shouldn't look back. This is a new start for us to lay a foundation. It is important not to dwell too much on the past. We don't have control over what happened in the past anyway,” he said.

Lessons learnt

One of the reasons his team fell short in Los Angeles was their lack of game management brought about by the injury they suffered at flyhalf. It helped shape the selection of his group of 12 players for the World Cup.

“The lesson I learnt was that it hurt us when we lost our only flyhalf in LA after five minutes,” said the coach.

“That's why I got someone like Cecil Afrika in, just in case someone like Selwyn Davids gets injured. We want to take the positive lessons from the LA tournament.”

He said Davids and Afrika are room mates and they have struck a bond that will hold the team in good stead. Much of their chat revolves around the demands of playing pivot, Powell noted.

Nothing for granted

Last month the Blitzboks would also have been reminded that nothing can be taken for granted in the abbreviated form of the game. This weekend's World Cup format will underline that with knock-out from the outset being the order of the day.

“We were on top for a few weeks and then we weren't but that is the game of Sevens for you,” Powell lamented.

“A regular World Series team can't just pitch up and think they will beat a team that is not a regular. Sevens levels the playing field for everybody. It is very unpredictable,” he said as his team prepared to do battle with either Chile or Germany.