Preview: Vancouver Sevens
Last weekend in Las Vegas, the South Africans lost their semifinal clash against Australia after conceding a penalty try after the sound of the final hooter. Powell now wants to see his squad improve their concentration and composure so that they are able to close out deciding matches successfully.
The two-day tournament will be staged in the state-of-the-art BC Place Stadium, which has a capacity of 54 500 and a gigantic retractable roof. The Springbok Sevens finished third at the USA tournament and they are five points behind Fiji, who are leading the World Sevens Series standings on 91 points.
Powell said the challenge facing the team in the build-up to the tournament is to strike an even balance between enough training and their mental preparation.
"We know from experience that the second [tournament] is usually the most challenging. Although you don't want to push the players too hard during training, you also want to work on certain areas of your game in preparation for the coming weekend.
"You want to arrive at the tournament in the right frame of mind and with a good focus," Powell said.
Apart from the lapses in concentration, statistics from the Las Vegas tournament indicate the Springbok Sevens were the most dominant side in several key areas of play during the tournament.
Powell wants his side to maintain their good form and to show a stronger mentality.
"It is vital that we keep our discipline and focus right to the end because any lapse will definitely cost you, as we saw in Las Vegas. The World Series is a very demanding and competitive competition," he added.
Meanwhile, Springbok Sevens forward Chris Dry could play in his 50th World Sevens Series tournament, if Ryan Kankowski doesn't overcome a stomach bug in time, while Springbok wing Bryan Habana is on course to run out in his second successive tournament.
The Springbok Sevens will also be hoping that wing Seabelo Senatla will continue with his prolific try-scoring form. The flyer made 12 line-breaks last weekend and scored 11 tries to increase his season tally to 36 so far.
Powell has also cautioned that Brazil, who is not a regular in the Series, might be a surprise package.
"Brazil defeated a strong SA Sevens Academy team in January in Chile, so they will be using that as a motivating factor when facing us," he stated.
Pools:
Pool A: Fiji, Kenya, Samoa, Portugal
Pool B: Australia, Wales, Russia, Canada
Pool C: South Africa, Argentina, Scotland, Brazil
Pool D: USA, New Zealand, France, England
Schedule – Saturday, March 12
(Kick-off is local time – GMT minus eight hours)
South Africa v Scotland – 09.30
Argentina v Brazil – 09.52
Fiji v Samoa – 10:14
Kenya v Portugal – 10:36
USA v France – 10:58
New Zealand v England – 11:20
Australia v Russia – 11:42
Wales v Canada – 12:04
South Africa v Brazil – 13:06
Argentina v Scotland – 13:28
Fiji v Portugal – 13:50
Kenya v Samoa – 14:12
USA v England – 14:34
New Zealand v France – 14:56
Wales v Russia – 15:18
Australia v Canada – 15:40
Scotland v Brazil – 16:54
South Africa v Argentina – 17:16
Samoa v Portugal – 17:38
Fiji v Kenya – 18:00
France v England – 18:22
USA v New Zealand – 18:44
Australia v Wales – 19:06
Russia v Canada – 19:28
Schedule – Sunday, March 13
(Kick-off is local time – GMT minus eight hours)
Bowl quarterfinals:
3rd Pool A v 4th Pool D – 09:40
3rd Pool C v 4th Pool B – 10:02
3rd Pool D v 4th Pool A – 10:24
3rd Pool B v 4th Pool C – 10:46
Cup quarterfinals:
1st Pool A v 2nd Pool D – 11:08
1st Pool C v 2nd Pool B – 11:30
1st Pool D v 2nd Pool A – 11:52
1st Pool B v 2nd Pool C – 12:14
Shield
Semifinal One – 12:56
Semifinal Two – 13:18
Bowl
Semifinal One – 13:40
Semifinal Two – 14:02
Plate
Semifinal One – 14:24
Semifinal Two – 14:46
Cup
Semifinal One – 15:08
Semifinal Two – 15:30
Shield Final – 16.02
Bowl Final – 16.30
Plate Final – 16.58
Third/Fourth playoff – 17.26
Cup Final – 18.00
