VIDEO: BlitzBoks set sights on World Cup
SEVENS SPOTLIGHT: Just days after they claimed their second consecutive World Series title, the BlitzBoks have the huge task of starting preparations for the World Cup – which takes place in America next month.
The South African Sevens side, who travelled to Paris in second place on the overall World Series standings, was forced to overcome a challenging weekend to claim their second consecutive World Series title.
However, courtesy of 24-14 victory over England in the final, aided by Fiji’s fifth-place finish at the final leg, the BlitzBoks ended number one on the overall standings by 182 to Fiji’s 180 points.
The historic back-to-back World Series win is truly a striking achievement for a side, who only secured two tournament victories out of 10 compared to Fiji’s five and who struggled with injuries throughout the Series.
- Article continues below video…
And it seems like it doesn’t get any easier as the BlitzBoks will travel to San Francisco without the likes of playmaker Cecil Afrika and stalwart Kyle Brown due to injury. Africa picked up a serious hamstring injury in London while Brown injured his knee in Singapore.
Although Powell hasn’t given much thought to the World Cup, the coach did hint that they could draw from fifteens to fill the void left by the casualties.
“We do have a plan on how we going to approach the World Cup but we have to meet up with the medical staff on Tuesday to determine who will be available for the tournament.
“It might be that we will go outside the squad to get one or two fifteens guys – who played sevens in the past. But the majority of the squad will consist of the current players, some from the Academy and players returning from injuries,”
World Cup Sevens 2018 kicks off on July 20 in San Francisco. The two-day event will see 24 teams competing for the title.
@rugby365com
More on the back-to-back @WorldRugby7s champions:
‘Lessons learned’ for BlitzBoks
BlitzBoks coach scoops top award
PARIS SEVENS: BlitzBoks win World Series after dramatic Final day
A very special @TAGHeuer Don’t Crack Under Pressure from Paris as we look at the @Blitzboks and how they clinched the 2018 world series! #DontCrackUnderPressure pic.twitter.com/c46bwMsph2
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) June 11, 2018
