With the World Cup firmly in their sights later on this year, the World Series champion Blitzboks kick off their title defence on Friday when this year’s Dubai Sevens gets underway in the desert city.
And for now, coach Neil Powell has stuck with his tried and tested recipe, with a very familiar line-up set to go into battle in the first tournament this season.
With probably the most experienced set of individuals on the circuit at the moment, the Blitzboks have been keeping themselves busy in the 15s game in the off-season, with Ruhan Nel, Werner Kok, Seabelo Senatla all in the victorious Currie Cup Western Province side, while Chris Dry, Cecil Afrika and Rosko Speckman all had stints with the Cheetahs.
Branco du Preez was at the Lions during the Currie Cup but all have returned and have been hard at work in the team base of Stellenbosch over the past few weeks.
So with a familiar look about them, loads of experience and the confidence that comes with winning the world title, coach Neil Powell should be looking forward to the season, but he knows the pitfalls that await his team if any complacency creeps in.
“Winning a series starts here, getting the culture right and players into sevens shape ahead of the new season,” he explained to the World Rugby website. “Everybody wants to get better. Yes, we are champions, but that doesn’t mean anything when the new series starts. We are back to the start and need to get all our systems back in place and get everyone fit.”
“It really takes a while to get back into the levels of fitness required in sevens. There aren’t the breaks in play you have in 15s, the intensity of a match is so much higher. It requires a lot from your body. We can’t waste one session in pre-season, every weights session, cardio and all our diet must be absolutely correct.”
While they won five tournaments last season, Powell is always looking for the next way to make the team better.
“We have a 78 percent win success on lineouts. There is still 22 percent improvement to be made there. Our scrum win rate is 98 percent as like most teams, but there’s still a two percent increase to be made. There is always something to be looked at
“We analyse every detail: time spent defending, time with ball in hand, different defensive systems. If you play against an offloading team like Fiji, you have to adapt your systems. All players knowing how to change system for a particular opponent is key for us.
“England, a great team on the series, were a nemesis for us. Six matches against them, one win, one draw, four losses. That’s not good enough and we need to work through the detail on why that happened.”
Cape Town last year saw England snatch the home title from the Blitzboks, something they don’t want to repeat. But for now its Dubai, a tournament they know all too well and where they have tasted success so many times before.
Friday sees a tricky opening schedule, but nothing they shouldn’t be able to manage as they face fellow Africans Uganda and Kenya, before a tricky game against Canada later on.
But Powell is a man who thrives on consistency, and will be demanding this from his players.
As defending champions they know the target is on their backs. They know what is coming, and luckily have a lot of experience to deal with it.
Chasing a title is easy. Defending it is something else.
