Brown: Bring it on

South Africa's Sevens specialists are ready to face their latest challenge head on.

Coach Neil Powell has managed to secure the release of a host of high-profile players to help give the BlitzBoks the best possible chance of reaching the highest possible podium place at the Rio Olympics next year.

World Cup Springboks Bryan Habana, Damian de Allende and Lwazi Mvovo are among a host of 15-a-side stars who will be in contention for places in South Africa's Olympic Sevens squad.

Add in the names of other high-profile 15-a-side players like Juan de Jongh, Warren Whiteley, Cornal Hendricks, Teboho Mohoje, Francois Hougaard, Ryan Kankowski, Jaco Kriel and Warren Whiteley, and it is obvious there will be some serious competition for places in the 12-man squad boarding the Rio-bound plane.

BlitzBoks captain Kyle Brown said they are "excited" about the challenge of facing the new recruits.

"There were some concerns about the players coming in, but players need to be tested," Brown said in an interview after the 34-man BlitzBok squad was unveiled this past week.

"You need to create an opportunity for guys that want to go to the Olympics.

We want to take the best 12 on that flight to Rio next August."

He said that if those 15-a-side players add fire power and show up well, it can only do well for the BlitzBoks' set-up.

"One of the attributes of successful teams is that internal competition is at an all-time high and that is what we are trying to do here."

Brown used himself as an example, where – for a long time – he was one of the only hookers in the squad and then Albertus Smith came along.

He felt the tougher the competition the bigger the benefit for the team.

And the senior members of the current squad of contracted players will also have some input into how the 15-a-side recruits are shaping up.

"He [coach Neil Powell] has in the past used us for input," Brown said.

"I have always felt our opinion and input have been valued," he said, adding: "I don't expect that to change."

He felt that defence will most likely be the biggest adjustment the 15-a-side players, because in the abbreviated version of the game you have seven players covering 70 metres, as opposed to 15 players covering the same width of the field.

"They should do well in the contact situations, as they are bigger," Brown said of the new recruits.

And then they will also plenty of depth ahead of a very compacted season that precedes the Olympics.

"Obviously there is a need for more depth in the squad, because of the nature of the season ahead and the system where two teams will leapfrog each other.

"We are going to need two incredibly strong squads to compete at all the different tournaments."

Apart from the overriding goal of winning gold at the Olympics, Brown felt it would be good to have a squad of 30 players that are world class.

"There are going to be many trial-and-error situations and testing different combinations throughout the season," he said, adding: "The top priority is to trial players."

By Jan de Koning

@King365ed

@rugby365com