Powell's BlitzBokke looking to kick on
South African Sevens coach Neil Powell hopes his team can kick on from their Commonwealth Games success earlier this year.
The BlitzBokke are looking forward to start the new season on a positive note, when they get their 2014/15 Sevens World Series campaign underway at the Gold Coast in Australia on Saturday.
The team arrived at the Aussie holiday destination last Sunday, where they are busy fine-tuning their preparations for the kick-off of this very important season.
The top four teams on the final standings of the World Series will gain automatic entry to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, easily making this the most important and competitive season to date.
Powell lead the BlitzBokke to a very credible second place on the 2013/2014 World Series standings and capped off a successful first season in charge by steering them to the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
According to Powell, the spirit in the squad is very good and the players are really looking forward to play this weekend.
"Hopefully we will be able to continue where we left off in Glasgow," he said.
The Springbok Sevens team were given the honour of presenting the Springboks with their match jerseys on the eve of their Rugby Championship Test match against the All Blacks last Friday.
"It was an unbelievable honour for the team to be involved in the Springboks' jersey handover presentation," Powell said.
"We really appreciate the great gesture by [Bok captain] Jean [de Villiers] and coach Heyneke [Meyer]. All of us had a great time at Ellis Park and their victory made the day extra special, not only for us but for all South Africans," said Powell.
The BlitzBokke, Powell explained, got into their stride straight after their arrival in Australia.
"We had our last attacking session on Tuesday and today [Wednesday] the players enjoyed a day off because the last week or so was a very busy time."
He added: "On Thursday we will have a defensive session and then on Friday we finish preparations with the captain's run.
"Our overall preparations were not as smoothly as I have hoped for, but that's the way it goes sometimes and you just have to adopt and manage things accordingly. Some players had minor niggles while Albertus Smith only joined us on the day of our departure because of his Currie Cup commitments with the Golden Lions."
