Sevens now a Bok conveyor belt
Seabelo Senatla has joined the growing band of Sevens stars stepping into the 15-a-side game at international level, adding credence to the suggestion that the abbreviated version is a good conveyor belt of world class players.
Cornal Hendricks and Warren Whiteley are the two other members of the Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning BlitzBokke team that is in the national 15-a-side squad for the four-match year-end tour.
However, both have earned their spurs earlier this year.
Senatla has now joined the growing club and players moving seamlessly between the abbreviated version of the game and the more traditional code.
Meyer said this is possible because of the closer co-operation between the two groups.
"The one thing we are getting right in rugby at the moment is that there is great communication between us [15-a-side Boks] and the Sevens [national team], while we try and do the same with the [national] Under-20 team as well," Meyer told a media scrum in Johannesburg – ahead of their departure for the year-end tour.
"Now we can start asking them to look at players and we have a pipeline for players, which wasn't there in the past.
"[SA Sevens coach] Neil [Powell] and his [management] team must get a lot of credit, as well as SA Rugby Union."
Meyer felt that Sevens and the 15-a-side code are moving closer to each other in terms of the skill-sets required.
"What I mean by that is the skill levels are more-or-less the same," he told the media gathering, adding: "In the past it was just passing skills, which didn't always suit [15-a-side] rugby.
"Now they are very good at the breakdown and a guy like Richie Gray is helping both teams.
"Sevens players are great at the breakdown, their ball-skills in the air and their one-on-one defence are all great."
Meyer said he is "really excited" to see how Senatla makes the conversion from the abbreviated version of the game to the 15-a-side code.
"He is still a youngster and it is a long-term process. He still needs to work on certain aspects of his game.
"However, the one thing you can see from Sevens, guys like him [Senatla] and Cornal [Hendricks] are finishers.
"It could be the difference between winning and losing games, [when someone can] score a try from nothing.
"It is great to give the Sevens guys chances and see if they can take it to the next level.
"There is obviously less space and more difficult conditions, but he is a quality player.
"He [Senatla] will take a bit of time to convert, but there is no reason why he can't be a great 15-a-side player as well."
@rugby365com
